First message in months from Selahattin Demirtaş

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş has been held in detention in Edirne F-Type Closed Prison for 223 days since 4 November 2016. Plenty of people in Turkey still yearn to hear the views of Demirtaş, who has very limited means for communicating with the outside due to the terms of his detention.

Demirtaş, an important figure in Turkish politics, provided the following written answers to Dihaber’s questions:

How many books have you read since you were detained? What kind of books are you mainly reading?

I have not kept count of the number of books I have read. But, I imagine I have read about a hundred books. I am trying to read books of all kinds, but I am mainly reading novels.

From among your visitors, are there any that you did not expect and were surprised by?

Apart from visits by lawyers, I am only able to see my family. Lawyers who I haven’t seen for years are visiting me. Half-jokingly they say, ‘God bless our state. They detained you and we can meet up easily.’ But, due to state of emergency implementations, bans have been introduced on visits by uncles, aunts and cousins. I can only see my first-degree relatives. Apart from my family, I have also been deprived of my right to see three other people. Violations and intimidation have become acute in all prisons thanks to the state of emergency. We also see this on the inside.

Has any message come from a figure within the AKP?

I get messages and letters from various sections of society. I have received letters of solidarity from people who describe themselves as being CHP, AKP or MHP supporters. This is an extra source of happiness for me. But the AKP administrators and parliamentarians who I have been acquainted with for years in politics and project themselves as favouring equality, justice and democracy, far from sending messages, would appear to have lost their tongues. I have had no message from any high-ranking AKP person.

Apart from letters and visits, you have the right to telephone calls. Who do you make these calls to?

I make a phone call to my wife, limited to ten minutes, once every fifteen days. Because the time of the call is known in advance, my wife and daughters gather together. Of late, my big girl Delal has played the violin to me over the phone because she has made strides forward in playing the violin. And I get to listen to the guitar from my little girl Dılda. The call is cut off automatically when the ten minutes end.

How many letters have you received until now?

I do not know the precise number, but I have received thousands of letters.

Which countries have you received letters from?

I have had no opportunity to produce statistics about this. But, I have received letters from virtually all countries in Europe, and dozens of countries including Canada, America and Australia.

How do you reply to the incoming letters? Do you save the letters?

I reply to the vast bulk of the incoming letters. At the same time, owing to the large number of letters to arrive, I send a brief message of thanks to some. I am saving the incoming letters in their entirety. There are cardboard boxes full of them. I am archiving them all following a certain arrangement.

Would you tell us about the most interesting letter you have received?

All of the letters are interesting and significant for me. So, I do not draw such a distinction between letters.

Are letters coming in different languages?

For the most part I am getting letters in Turkish, Kurdish and English. Turkish letters predominate.

Which letter has moved you the most?

All the letters I get move me.

How are your artistic endeavours proceeding?

I am taking my artistic endeavours forward with an amateur spirit and informed by a certain purpose. From my point of view, seriousness in politics is not about scowling but taking the work it does seriously.

From this viewpoint, humour for me is the most important business. One of the most important tools of politics, life and struggle is humour. Humour is such a serious intellectual business that fascism cannot cope with it and cannot deal with it. It is the shortest and most sincere way to reach out to society. The same applies to literature. Today’s political language is coarse, ugly, alienating and masculine. Art, however, can perform important tasks in stripping politics of all its coarseness. The aspect of art and literature that refines the soul makes the HDP’s politics easier to understand. Regardless of whether I succeed, I wanted to make a reference to the enmeshment that is art and literature even in a small way. I have also tried to inspire young colleagues who take me as a role model in politics in the direction of the arts and literature.

What is the reason for devoting yourself to artistic work under those conditions?

I have attached special emphasis to art and literature in the endeavour to break the fear that they want to spread through society by detaining us. The message we want to give is that we are not trembling with fear in our prison cells. Our spirits are high, we are strong and we are not afraid. The facilities here are very, very limited but I nevertheless try to set aside time for the arts and literature.

I receive much valuable criticism, positive and negative. This motivates me even further. The only criticism I do not agree with is criticism that it does not sit well with the seriousness required of a leader for a political leader like me to produce paintings and literature in prison.

I take this opportunity of renewing our call to all our people and friends to stand firm with courage against fascism wherever they find themselves in high spirits and decisiveness, and I sent my greetings and love together with my friend Abdullah Zeydan.