The press conference began with a statement by Dogan Genc, a member on the board of directors of the Istanbul branch of IHD. Genc said the democratic institutions in Turkey were continuing to raise their voices against the occupation in Iraq. "The most important one, and the most meaningful one is the voice raised by the mothers and families of those who could die in this war. This is the importance of today's statement," Genc said.
ESP: We will go to the parliament
ESP representative Ayse Yilmaz read the press statement and said that the Turkish parliament had voted to give authorization to government to send troops to Iraq despite wide opposition in the public.
Yilmaz said:
"The families of soldiers are now joining those who demonstrate in the streets everyday. The families of soldiers in Turkey are coming together and raising their voices. Families of soldiers from various provinces are talking about what they should do and are fighting to stop their children from dying, from getting killed."
Yilmaz said they would go to Ankara in the coming days with the families of soldiers and raise their voices there against "sending troops to Iraq."
What did the families of soldiers say?
Zohre Kilic (Her son has been serving in the military in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir for the last eight months): I don't want my child to go to Iraq. Only I know how I raised him. They want to sell my child in return for eight billion dollars. They want to send him there as a guard. We want our children back. All the families of soldiers should come together. Let's go to the parliament if necessary. None of us want our children to die in Iraq.
Ismail Catmabacak (His brother-in-law is serving in the military in Yakacik): Nobody wants Turkey to send troops to Iraq. My brother-in-law is in Yakacik right now but they could send him to Iraq tomorrow. I wish (Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan's son were serving in the military too. They don't care because those who are going to die are our children.
Hatice Catmabacak (Her brother is serving in the military in Yakacik): Not only my brother but all soldiers are our children. Those who approved sending troops to Iraq should first send their children to Iraq. They had better bargain over our children after they feel that pain. We have watched the attack (on the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad). The Iraqi people do not want Turks to go there.
They are now aware of how and in what kinds of conditions those children are raised. Today, they are insisting on a raise for the lawmakers, who earn 5.5 billion Turkish lira (USD 4,000) a month. And they want to send the child of a worker, who was raised with 200 million Turkish lira (USD 145) a month, to Iraq.
Huseyin Turkmen (His brother has been serving in the military in Cyprus for seven months): For all our soldier brothers, we don't want Turkish troops to go to northern Iraq. And for this, we are ready to do whatever is necessary. I believe we should all join together and take concrete action. (AD/BB/EA/NM)
