ISTANBUL – Speaking at the "Freedom Rally" in Bağcılar Square, İstanbul DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan referred to the framework law currently under public discussion, saying: “The framework law must be clear. It must be explicit. It must be courageous.”

 

The “Freedom Rally,” held in Istanbul’s Bağcılar Square to demand the physical freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, continued. Following a speech by DEM Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan, singer Tara Mamedova took the stage. The crowd danced govend (Kurdish traditional dance) for a long time to Tara Mamedova’s Kurdish songs.

 

 

ABDULLAH ÖCALAN’S MESSAGES SCREENED

 

Following the concert, a video featuring photographs of Abdullah Öcalan and excerpts from speeches he delivered on various occasions was projected onto a giant screen. When Öcalan’s statement, “The Kurdish people listen to my words,” was played, the crowd responded by chanting, “Bijî Serok Apo (Long live Leader Apo).”

 

Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan then took the stage and paid tribute to artist Kadir İnanır, who recently passed away. He said that İnanır was not only an artist but also “a friend of the Kurds, a friend of workers and a person who always stood with the oppressed.” Bakırhan said they had promised İnanır a democratic Turkey based on equal citizenship.

 

Bakırhan also referred to the rallies held in Wan (Van), Mersin and Amed (Diyarbakır). Explaining that the reason they demand freedom is that hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives and trillions of liras have been spent during the more than 50-year conflict, he said the ongoing conflict is also the main reason for the country's economic hardship. “That is why we are in these squares today—to put an end to conflict and violence, so that Kurdish and Turkish children no longer lose their lives, so that our elected political representatives are here with us instead of in prison, and so that this process reaches a successful conclusion,” he said.

 

Bakırhan stressed that the Kurdish people have never given up demanding peace and said the purpose of the rallies was to raise that demand more loudly. Calling on those governing the country to listen to the rallies, he added: “This square is the voice of a will that cannot be silenced. It is the voice of 25 million Kurds, Alevis and workers—from Colemêrg (Hakkari), Dêrsim (Tunceli), Amed and every part of Turkey—who demand a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue.”

 

‘THE FRAMEWORK LAW MUST BE COURAGEOUS’

 

Saying that the balance of power in the Middle East and around the world is changing and being reshaped, Bakırhan argued that undemocratic systems are collapsing.

 

“All countries must now confront their past and create a more democratic order,” he said, adding that Turkey has also entered a period of change and can no longer sustain an undemocratic system. He called for the establishment of “a more democratic and stronger Turkey.”

 

Stating that the way out of Turkey’s crisis and chaos is to confront the past, Bakırhan continued: “In this historic period, we must finally listen to the Kurdish people's century-long struggle for rights. We must listen to the Alevis' demand for freedom of belief and to the labor of workers. Every historic solution has a beginning. That beginning is today. The most urgent task of politics today is to adopt a framework law. The framework law must be clear. It must be explicit. It must be courageous.”

 

‘THOSE WHO BURNED THEIR WEAPONS HAVE STILL NOT RETURNED’

 

Bakırhan recalled that they had personally witnessed the ceremony in which weapons were burned, but said that despite the passage of a year, the guerrillas have still not been able to return to the country. “We once again say that this process must be brought to a conclusion without any further delay, stalling or procrastination,” he said, warning that prolonging the process would expose it to greater risks.

 

Noting that the process has a main interlocutor, Bakırhan continued: “Mr. Abdullah Öcalan has spent 27 years in prison. Throughout those 27 years, he has consistently spoken of peace, dialogue and Turkey’s democratic future. He has made every possible effort. He has consistently defended a solution in Turkey. He has consistently advocated ending this war and securing democratic rights and freedoms for the Kurdish people. Therefore, it is unacceptable that Mr. Öcalan—the only interlocutor capable of ending this war and resolving this issue—remains under isolation in a 12-square-meter cell. We are now in a process that should enable Mr. Öcalan to meet with the peoples of Turkey.”

 

‘THERE CAN BE NO PEACE WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO HOPE’

 

Bakırhan said there is no longer any justification for delaying Abdullah Öcalan’s access to free working conditions. He added that peace cannot be achieved unless the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) ruling recognizing Öcalan’s “right to hope” is implemented.

 

Bakırhan said: “The right to hope is this people's right to move toward the future. Therefore, we must accelerate the steps to be taken in parliament regarding the special law and build peace against those who seek to provoke and undermine this process."