Campaign from Women, LGBTI: ‘I Want Peace Because …’

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Women and LGBTI members coming together upon call of Women for Peace Initiative have launched a campaign with the slogan “We Favor Life, not Death! We Defend Our Right to Peace and Truth”.

A text on the demand for resume of negotiations and establishment of perpetual peace has been opened for signature within the scope of the campaign. Furthermore, a call has been made to women to write “I want peace because …” on paper, fabric, their hands, sand, wall, in short wherever they want with their names on it.

All signatures and peace messages will be collected in www.yasamdanyanayiz.com website to be later submitted to the parliament.

Women will stage a protest as part of the campaign in Kadıköy on January 31. The campaign will end with peace watch that will be kept in Diyarbakır on February 6-7.

"We don't give consent to this"

The full text is as follows:

WE FAVOR LIFE, NOT DEATH!

We Defend Our Right to Peace and Truth!

Many things have happened in these lands. We are in war again since July and that fierceness and costs of the war has been increasing especially by the operations and curfews intensified as of December. Bombs explode all around us. Why is this war which leaves people dead, and have us live in insecurity and horror being sustained? We don't give consent to this.

We have been condemned to live within deaths, explosions, displaced people, violence and threat incidents increasing day by day. We don't give consent to this.

Children are getting killed. How are we going to build a future in a country where children are being killed? We don't give consent to this.

Besides, we can't speak of these; we are becoming a society which cannot look in each other's faces, can't help but hate and lynch instead of removing the causes of this war. While all these things happen, media outlets obliged to inform people go between either remaining silent or provoking war. Why is our right to truth being violated every day over and over?

We women embrace our right to peace and truth. Living in peace and know the truth is our most basic right. We don't give consent to this war!

Removing discrimination against women, inequality, violence, and establishing justice can be achieved in a peace environment in which we all can live as equals and freely. We need peace to change a history of being destructed or ignored and embrace our lives.

Thus, we call for all women to pursue peace and truth without losing hope.

As war never brings solution, increases pain every day, we need problems to be solved by negotiations, not by bombs, we need to speak of truths and peace. We have every rights to it.

(ÇT/TK)

Campaign from Women, LGBTI: ‘I Want Peace Because …’

İstanbul

"We don't give consent to this"