"MHP will obstruct AKP's move to engage in dialogue with HDP": Deputy

Garo Paylan, deputy for the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and a member of the Armenian community in Turkey, said that the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) recent move to engage in dialogue with HDP on the Islamic headscarf issue may not evolve into a substantial change in its stance at HDP as its far right ally will likely obstruct such a move.

Speaking to +Gercek's Seda Taskin Paylan said on Monday that he believed the recent visit by a AKP delegation to HDP representatives at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) is a step taken in the context of coming 2023 elections.

He pointed out that Turkish President and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always pursued opportunistic policies, and said that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will try to block a dialogue between AKP and HDP even it's part of AKP's election politics.

"Erdogan saw that he will lose in the elections and he is trying to make some moves, but his partners MHP and the Patriotic Party will stop him from engaging in dialogue," Paylan said.

AKP's inconsistent stance towards HDP were recently criticized by two former AKP deputies, one currently a senior party official.

While AKP have constantly accused HDP of being linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in recent years, and call for its closure, an AKP delegation met with HDP representatives on Thursday at the Turkish parliament to discuss AKP's proposal to make a constitutional amendment on the issue of Islamic headscarf through a referandum vote.

After the bilateral meeting, former deputies Mehmet Metiner and Samil Tayyar said in separate statements that AKP should change its rhetoric and approach towards HDP if it sees it as a party that can be consulted in dialogue, and as one whose support is valuable.

This was followed by Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu's far fetched allegations targeting HDP on Sunday. He said HDP officials have tried to find new recruits for the ranks of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated a "terrorist" group by Ankara.