People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-Chairman Tuncer Bakırhan made evaluations at his party's weekly Parliamentary Group Meeting.
Referring to the flood disaster that occurred in Istanbul last week, Bakırhan said, "108 of the 168 stream basins in the city have been affected by various physical interventions. Water has a memory, friends. Even if you turn the stream into land, water does not forget its old path. You will fragment the Northern Forests with roads and airports; you will turn the valleys into projects and the basins into residences; and then in every disaster you will say "it rained too much." We do not accept this. Our citizens affected by the flood also "This disaster is not enough... And they still insist on projects that threaten the water, soil and living spaces of this city. However, what Istanbul needs is not mega projects; if you want to do good for the society, do projects that eliminate these mega risks," he said.
Bakırhan, who focused on the operations carried out on municipalities over the disaster, said: "You have been dealing with the municipalities of Istanbul for two years. They are very skillful in this regard, they are excellent. But on October 14, Istanbul said to you: 'Deal with my facts a little.' Instead of talking every day about how to transfer municipalities, what if you also talked about where you will transfer that water when the water is high? Look, it is not the mayors who need to be changed in Istanbul; "It is the understanding that turns the stream into land, the green into concrete, and the city into profit," he said.
'PROCESS' CALL: ÖCALAN SHOULD BE ON WORK 24 HOURS
Regarding the "process" they are continuing with the government, Bakırhan said, "The termination was made. Weapons were burned. The decision to withdraw was announced. The camps are being evacuated. The society is attached to this process with hope. There is no reason to wait in the face of such a clear picture. We, with the voice of this society, ask openly: What are you waiting for now? This question cannot be answered with silence. The government must stop expressing intentions and move on to the decision-making stage."
Bakırhan asked people, "When will Mr. Öcalan have free communication and living conditions? When will he be able to address the public directly? When will the prisons be emptied, when will those in exile be able to return, when will those in the mountains return to democratic politics? When will the trustees be removed? When will Ahmet Türk return to his duties? When will our Siirt mayors return to their duties? When will our elected co-mayors return to their duties? When will the obstacles to democratic politics be removed? When will the legal guarantees of this process be established?" will it be established? He stated that he asked and continued as follows:
"The Peace and Politicization Board should be established without delay, under the coordination of Mr. Öcalan, and begin its work. Disarmament cannot be completed with a declaration of will; a mechanism that will bring it to a conclusion is required. That mechanism is this board. The names to be given to this board should be on peace duty, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, if necessary, with Mr. Öcalan. This will not work by meeting with the chief negotiator of the process at intervals lasting weeks. Every day that passes is a day lost for peace. This board cannot be put on hold. It must be established immediately. “It should start working immediately.”
PRESSURE ON THE PRESS: THIS IS CALLED THE POLITICS OF FEAR
Bakırhan's reaction to the increasing pressure and obstructions on the press in the recent period was as follows: "If peace is the talk of politics, why is everyone who speaks out punished and censored in some way? You cannot say "peace" with one hand and silence the society and the press with the other. You appoint a trustee to Halk TV. You use the allegations against a company owner as a justification for interfering with the labor of hundreds of journalists and the right to receive news of millions of people. But you detain the journalists who talk about the fund. Dipnot Publications' book Mahir Çayan You are confiscating it and prosecuting its publisher. Censorship and access barriers to Mezopotamya Agency, JINNEWS and Yeni Yaşam continue uninterruptedly. We are in the 21st century. Is the government still going to decide which books will be read, which news will be seen and who will run which municipality? This is the politics of fear."
