HÜDA PAR Deputy Chairman and Gaziantep MP Şahzade Demir has called for economic reforms, a constitutional resolution to the Kurdish issue and continued support for Palestinians in Gaza.

Speaking at the fifth ordinary congress of HÜDA PAR’s Bitlis provincial branch, Demir criticized Türkiye’s interest-based economic model, saying it discouraged investment in production and employment.

“Instead of putting their money into production, employment and factories, people say, ‘Let me deposit it in the bank and earn money while lying on my back,’” he said, citing 34 trillion Turkish lira in bank deposits.

Demir said minimum-wage earners and pensioners were struggling to meet basic needs amid rising living costs.

“No one can sustain their life with this money, educate their children, or support their family,” he said.

Turning to the political process aimed at ending the conflict with the PKK, Demir welcomed the government’s initiative but said disarmament alone would not resolve the Kurdish issue.

“The process currently underway is the liquidation of the PKK and its laying down of arms; it is not the solution to the Kurdish issue,” he said.

He called for a new constitution to address Kurdish grievances, strengthen social cohesion and guarantee the rights of Muslims.

Demir also urged the government to establish a legal framework for family arbitration, citing concerns about rising divorce rates, declining family stability and addiction among young people.

On Gaza, he said public and political attention to Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory had waned and called for continued consumer boycotts and humanitarian aid.

“We must continue the boycotts and the aid,” he said.

Addressing regional economic challenges, Demir called for increased investment and incentives in Bitlis, saying limited job opportunities were driving young people to migrate westward. He also cited difficulties facing agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as infrastructure problems including parking shortages and delays in completing the Bitlis-Tatvan ring road.

Demir also raised concerns about the condition of Bitlis Castle and called on authorities to address the city’s outstanding problems.

At the congress, incumbent provincial chairman Cengiz Karakaya was re-elected. (ILKHA)