NATO Parliamentary General Assembly’s (NATO PA) 62nd annual session was held in Istanbul between Nov. 19-21, 2016, and hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). Turkish President Erdoğan addressed the meeting as well.
During the second day of the annual general assembly, deputy Ziya Pir from the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was elected as the vice-president of a sub-committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Announcing the news from his Twitter account on Sunday, HDP deputy Pir said: “Good grief… I am supposed to travel abroad frequently due to my post but I face a travel ban!”
HDP, SYRIZA AND NATO
The Greek ruling party SYRIZA, the Coalition of the Radical Left, which took power in Greece with an anti-austerity rhetoric in the face of financial crisis, led to the rise of some parties and movements that called themselves as socialist alternative across the world.
SYRIZA and HDP carried out mutual visits in the level of their leaders to support each other for elections and some other campaigns.
After coming to power, SYRIZA conceded pro-austerity and privatization measures of Germany and the EU.
Recently, as Greek PM and SYRIZA’s leader Tsipras welcomed US President Obama for his ‘farewell visit’ in Athens, the Greek government used police violence in attempting to scatter the popular anti-Obama protests in Greece.
Similarly, HDP’s recent NATO move has also raised a question regarding the position of such parties and movements which were expected by some to stand against war organizations such as NATO.
