Abdulkadir Güleç, President of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, spoke at today’s session of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission established in Parliament seeking a solution to the Kurdish question. Güleç began his speech by commemorating Tahir Elçi, President of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, who was murdered in 2015, saying, “I hope that the perpetrators will be tried before an independent and impartial court and that a confrontation with the past will take place.”
Güleç emphasized that the commission should not be limited to creating a memory of recent history but should also contribute to both Turkey’s democratization process and the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question by taking on an active role in the work to be carried out.
Destruction of weapons opened the door to social peace
Referring to the disarmament process, Güleç stated that the PKK’s destruction of its weapons was a turning point and opened the door to social peace. “A special law should be enacted for the reintegration into society of thousands of people held in prisons and citizens living in exile in Europe,” he underlined.
The commission should adopt the language of peace and solution
Güleç remarked that the legitimate demands of the Kurds have been rejected for years due to misconceptions and met with hate speech, adding, “The commission should reject divisive language and adopt the language of peace and solution. What this society needs most is to listen to and understand each other.”
The state must make peace with Kurdish
Güleç criticized the Commission restricting Peace Mothers from speaking in Kurdish during the fifth meeting held on August 20 and stated: “It is a fundamental right for a mother to express her pain about her child in the language she knows best. If Parliament had allowed this, it would have been a very valuable step towards normalizing Kurdish and making it the language of peace. The state must now make peace with Kurdish.”
Regulations enabling the release of ill prisoners in particular must be enacted
Güleç stated that the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights must be implemented, calling for the release of Selahattin Demirtaş, Osman Kavala, Can Atalay, Figen Yüksekdağ, and many other political prisoners. Regulations enabling the release of ill prisoners in particular must be enacted urgently, he added.
A new constitution is a historical and social necessity
Remarking that Turkey has been governed by a coup-era constitution for 45 years, Güleç said that the current constitution cannot guarantee social peace. “A new constitution is no longer a choice, but a historical and social necessity,” he said, noting that implementing the decentralized spirit of the 1921 Constitution would also pave the way for education in mother tongue.
Call for legal measures to protect women and children from violence
Güleç stated that the Parliament should become a mechanism where not only the ruling party but also the opposition can play an active role. Calling for the removal of reservations to the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Güleç highlighted the need for effective legal measures to protect women and children from violence.
Source: ANF News
