Co-chairpersons of DEM Party do not attend the briefing session in Parliament

Co-Chairperson of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Tülay Hatimoğulları, made assessments on the agenda during the weekly Parliamentary Group Meeting yesterday (January 16).

After the group meeting, the Co-Chairpersons of DEM Party did not attend the briefing session held where Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan briefed the Parliament following the news of deaths of 21 soldiers within three weeks from the north of Iraq.

In the group meeting, Hatimoğulları expressed condolences for the 12 soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq recenlty, stating, “We see that it is the children of the poor who serve in the military and receive news of their deaths. No one from the palace and its supporters receives such news.”

Hatimoğulları said the following in the party's group meeting:

"Kışanak not released despite completing 7-years in prison"

"In the Kobanî Trial, our friends are supposedly being judged, but in reality, they are judging the political power and the judicial system aligned with it. Yesterday, we were expecting the commencement of Gültan Kışanak's defense. However, in the early hours, we were there. Despite completing a 7-year period of imprisonment, which vividly demonstrates the examples of this set-up trial, dear Gültan Kışanak was not released. Kışanak filed a motion for the recusal of the judge with many reasons yesterday."

"In recent days, once again, we received news of soldiers' deaths. I extend my condolences to the soldiers who lost their lives and express my sympathy to their grieving families. While there is no color of grief, its class does exist. To the best of our ability, we have tried to convey the class-based nature of this grief to the Turkish and global public. When we look at the families of fallen soldiers, we see families living in adobe houses, forced to live in tents—poor families. We observe that it is the children of the poor who serve in the military and receive news of their deaths. None of the palace or its supporters receive such news. After the earthquake, soldier families wh had to live in tents were constantly shown in the media."

Response to Bahçeli: "We not only speak Kurdish but also speak Arabic, Turkish, and Syriac"

[Nationalist Movement Party leader] Bahçeli says that in the time of Shams al-Din Mehmed* [13th century], those who did not speak Turkish could not live in these lands. Based on such a racist discourse, he says, 'Those who do not speak Turkish have no place in the Parliament,' claiming that DEM Party has no place in the parliament. We clearly state the following: there is no place in the parliament for an understanding that evokes executioners and executioner mentality. Parliament is a political arena where words are uttered, politics is discussed; it is a space where wars, conflicts, and all the problems in the country are discussed and solutions are found.

"Other than that, to those who say 'Those who speak Kurdish have no place here, DEM Party members have no place here,' in a way that seems to summon executioners to the parliament, our response is very clear: As DEM Party members, we not only speak Kurdish but also speak Arabic, Turkish, and Syriac. We are a political party that speaks all ancient languages in the lands of Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Our place is in the parliament. Those who do not have a place in the parliament are those who clamor for war, those who deepen conflicts. Our place is here."

"Rojava is currently being bombed"

"As these tragic news come, as these conflict reports come - of course, as DEM Party members, we feel everyone's pain and sorrow deep in our hearts - immediately afterwards, Rojava starts to be bombed, civilians are killed. Power plants, food warehouses, hospitals, and civilian living areas are bombed. We have raised these issues every time. Taking revenge on civilians, where does that fit in any ethics or understanding? But yes, Rojava is currently being bombed. What comes to mind when we say Rojava? The Kurdish people who fought the most honorable struggle against ISIS and the Arab people allied with them come to mind. ISIS is a danger not only in the lands it dreams of but also for the US, France, and the West. The people of Rojava have fought to save the whole world from this danger. As DEM Party, we say that the path you are walking is not the right path. We once again propose the path of peace to this parliament, political parties, and the entire society."

"Our path is the path of peace, the path of negotiation; as DEM Party, our path is the path of generating a solution process. Our path is the path of peacefully and democratically resolving the wars and conflicts that have been going on for 40 years, the path of establishing an honorable peace. We will never give up our path and will continue our struggle with determined steps."

Hatimoğulları also reminded that January 19 is the anniversary of journalist Hrant Dink's death, the editor-in-chief of Agos newspaper in Armenian and Turkish. She stated, "On January 19, we will also be in front of Agos. Beloved Hrant was one of the 301 peace signatories. Unfortunately, his death was a result of that signature and his commitment to peace. But let us assure him, that also with his signature, we will definitely kill the war."

• Shams al-Dīn Meḥmed (died 20 June 1277 or 30 May 1279) was Beg of Ḳaraman from 1263 until his death. Ḳaraman was a Turkish principality in Anatolia in the 13th century. His father was Karaman Bey (Source: Wikipedia).

(AS/PE)