In a written statement, the Social Initiative for Peace drew attention to the ongoing process regarding the resolution of the Kurdish question, stressing that society, with all its organized sectors, must become the main actor in this process.
The statement said: “We will mark September 1, World Peace Day, at a time when military spending has reached unprecedented levels across the world, when Israel continues its genocidal and new occupation attempts in Gaza that have cost tens of thousands of lives through the most monstrous methods, and when nearly every corner of the world, from Ukraine to Syria and Lebanon, especially our region, faces war or the threat of war.
In our own lands, an opportunity has arisen to live together in peace. The democratic resolution of the Kurdish question, equal citizenship, education in one’s mother tongue, and the recognition of universal rights such as local self-governance are the conditions for peace. Yet these lands have witnessed too much blood, destruction, and tears. Too many of our loved ones have been lost, too many homes have been consumed by the unquenchable fire of grief.”
The statement added: “In recent days, following the organization’s decision to dissolve itself, to symbolically lay down arms, and to restructure on a democratic basis, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey established a commission for the resolution of the Kurdish question. However, at the commission’s fifth meeting, Peace Mothers were not allowed to speak in their mother tongue. Even those who refused to see were forced to realize that the resolution of the Kurdish question can only be achieved through the recognition of universal rights and concrete steps towards democratization.
The government seeks to conduct this process, which concerns the entire country and the region, solely under its own initiative. It is instrumentalizing this process, which is vital for all living beings, for forests, for mountains and stones, for rivers. The unlawful operations against the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the threats of attacks against the Kurdish settlement in Rojava prevent society from embracing the demand for peace and from trusting the process.”
The statement continued: “Now, we stand at precisely this moment, on this very day. It is time to raise our voices for peace and democracy, to amplify that voice. This is the moment to strengthen our demand for peace with the voices of those struggling against femicides, child abuse, endless poverty, and injustices; with the voices of those who demand a fair distribution of resources and wealth; with the voices of nature and labor, of all the oppressed, of bread and justice.
For peace and democracy to be established in the country and the region, the initiative must not belong to the government but to society itself, to the peoples, to all sectors yearning for peace and democracy, to the forces of labor, peace, and democracy. Society, with all its organized components, must become the principal actor in this process.
September 1, World Peace Day, is the time to raise the demand for bread, justice, peace, and democracy. In the midst of fire, across every corner of the country, it is time to raise the voice of peace and democracy, to amplify it, to hold on tightly to it.”
Source: ANF News
