‘AKP's budget proposal disregards farmers, women, children with SMA’

Click to read the article in Turkish

Republican People's Party (CHP) Vice Chair Responsible for Human Rights and Denizli MP Gülizar Biçer-Karaca addressed the General Assembly of the Parliament during the talks on the 2022 central budget.

Speaking on behalf of the main opposition CHP Parliamentary Group yesterday (December 15), Biçer-Karaca stated that the proposed budget of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is "not the nation's budget", as alleged by the party, "but it is a budget of plot."

The MP underlined that the right to budget is citizens' right to political participation, but this right has been usurped now in Turkey.

Asking whether "this budget is the nation's budget as the AKP alleged", Biçer-Karaca dwelled on the shortcomings of the budget by specifically referring to farmers amid increasing prices, the problems faced by women and the children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

'Farmer Hasan is not in this budget'

Recounting a conversation between herself and farmer Hasan Yurdakul from Denizli's Bozkurt district, the MP stated, "He said, 'Ms. Deputy, I bought the urea fertilizer for 95 lira last year; it is 780 lira today. I have not used fertilizer and I won't be able to do so.'"

According to Biçer-Karaca, farmer Yurdakul also asked her "whether there is an item on this year's budget that will solve this problem of farmers." The MP said, "I looked into it. No. There is no [financial] resource in this budget that will solve this problem of farmers like our uncle Hasan."

Recounting the problems faced by farmers further, CHP's Gülizar Biçer-Karaca also talked about a farmer named Mehmet from Kale district, who called her and said that he had to sell his tractor because of his debt to the Agriculture Credit Cooperative and the Ziraat Bank.

Noting that the farmer is also trying to sell his agricultural land as well, the MP said that every time the farmer went to the bank, he saw that the money to be paid increased because of accrued interest.

Problems faced by women

"Ms. Ayten, a mother of six, called from Erzurum. Her two of six children graduated from university, but they are unemployed," said Biçer-Karaca further, recounting the mother's words as follows:

"My children grew up without knowing what fruits and vegetables taste like and I am ashamed of saying this."

Calling out to women in the person of Ms. Ayten, the MP briefly said:

Ms. Ayten, esteemed women; who must be ashamed is not you; the ones who must be ashamed are the ones who had a palace built for every season and then do not hear this poverty, these cries of yours, saying, "I have written the book of economics'.

Children with SMA

Recalling that "the mother of baby Muzaffer with SMA from Eskişehir committed suicide in November, concerned that she would be unable to meet the expenses necessary for the baby's treatment", Biçer-Karaca also mentioned the financial hardships faced by the families who are trying to raise millions of dollars to have their children with SMA treated with gene therapy abroad as it is not a treatment offered in Turkey or is not finacially supported by the Ministry of Health of the country.

Concluding her statement, CHP MP Gülizar Biçer-Karaca said, "There is no right to life in this budget." (EMK/SD)