Time to call a halt to tyranny

The rally staged by the HDP around the theme, ‘We are flocking to “No” with the joy of Newroz,’ was held at the New Tuesday Market in Göztepe. The crowds, who began to fill the rally venue from the early hours, voiced in unison the message of ‘No’ with an eye on the constitutional amendment referendum slated for 16 April.

Istanbul Provincial Organisation Co-Chair, Esengül Demir, making the opening speech at the rally venue that was decked out with pennants bearing the word ‘No’ in Turkish and Kurdish, gave her salutations to all political detainees as embodied in the detained HDP Co-Chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, and said: ‘Istanbul has convened in its determination to say “No” to a single man. The time has come to call a halt to those who have ruled this country with tyranny for fifteen years. They have despoiled the forests to the north, the Black Sea mountain pasturage and all parts of the Hevsel Gardens. Women have come under duress and violence to an extent unseen in this country’s history. The murders of women will go down in history as this government’s darkest page.’

HDK Co-Spokesperson Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit drew attention to the labour expended by citizens in Istanbul. Koçyiğit, stating that, even so, in return the people were left to live in poverty and shanty towns and places with no roads, said, ‘They’ll rue the day they called this poll. Just as we succeeded on 7 June, we’ll show them on 16 April, too.’

HDP Ankara MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder, saying that the referendum set for 16 April was the most meaningful resistance, said, ‘The referendum was lost on the day that our co-chairs, PMs, mayors, party members, young people and women were detained with the greatest of tyranny. A government that is self-assured and feels no hesitation before us can engage in this oppression. The oppression is increasing and their end is nigh. We will give this reply through democratic means on the sixteenth.’ Ahmet Türk was the last to address the rally. Türk, saying that all governments that had come to power until now had embarked on policies to set the Kurdish and Turkish people against one another, proclaimed that democratic forces must fight in unison to oppose such policies. The rally, which passed off in great exuberance, was rounded off with a mini concert by İlkay Akkaya, Koma Çiya, Grup Vardiya and Ruken Yılmaz.