MHP leader welcomes case seeking closure of HDP

ANKARA

The leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, on March 18 welcomed a case by a top prosecutor demanding the closure of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), saying the party should be shut and “never to be opened again.”

“The HDP is a criminal organization disguised in a political cloak. Its closure, without it being allowed to reopen under another name, is a duty of honor to history, justice, our nation, and our coming generations,” Bahçeli said, addressing his party’s 13th general congress.

His remarks came a day after Turkey’s top prosecutor filed an indictment seeking the dissolution of the HDP.

The indictment filed by the top prosecutor was “the voice of law and justice,” the politician said.

“This development has put the minds of our entire nation at rest,” he said.

“The HDP is the PKK; a murderer and a death trap for innocent children, youth, and women,” Bahçeli stated.

Bahçeli has long been urging the Turkish judiciary to take action for the closure of the HDP.

Bahçeli also refuted rumors of possible snap elections in Turkey. “The elections will be held as scheduled [in 2023]. Turkey will not deviate from this route,” he said.

He reaffirmed that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be the MHP’s presidential candidate for the 2023 polls.

The MHP and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) formed the “People’s Alliance” ahead of the June 2018 general elections.