In Amed (Diyarbakır), 328 civil society, business, labour and professional organisations announced the Peace Declaration they prepared on the occasion of World Peace Day on 1 September at Dağkapı Square (Şêx Seîd Square). Diyarbakır Labour and Democracy Platform components and representatives of signatory organisations took part in the declaration.

Reading the statement, Diyarbakır Bar Association President Nahit Eren pointed out that the most basic aim of human beings is to live in safety and dignity, free from fear. Underlining that it is a fundamental right to live in peace in a world without wars, Eren said: “However, wars, conflicts and violence continue in many parts of the world in front of the eyes of the international community with all its cruelty and destructiveness. In the last 10 months alone, more than 40 thousand people have lost their lives in the attacks in Palestine. As always, children and women have been the most affected by the attacks. Despite all these negativities, we must continue to persistently defend our right to peace against wars for a livable world.”

Nihat Eren remarked that they are aware of the necessity and importance of peace as a society that has experienced the destruction and pain caused by war, conflict and violence, and said, “The processes initiated in the past years for a democratic resolution to the Kurdish question and supported by the society by attributing great importance to them, unfortunately could not be concluded in line with social expectations. Despite the resumed conflicts, operations and violence, the expectation and hope for a solution process that prioritizes peace in all segments of society and is based on dialogue and negotiation are still strong.”

Stating that the representatives of civil society, professional and business organisations who came together in Amed in February made an observation and a call for a solution to the Kurdish question, Eren stated the following: “It has been determined that the country's democratic development bottleneck and the economic crises in the country are directly related to the insistence on the unresolved Kurdish question and the ongoing security policies, that a new will for a solution should be formed, that the weapons should be silenced, that the obstacles in front of the roles of the actors should be removed and that the Parliament should assume responsibility for the solution of this painful issue.”

It has been experienced that insistence on security policies also harms social peace and the will to live together, Eren said, referring to the recent crackdown on Kurdish culture and language. He stated: “The detention, arrest and sentencing of those who dance to Kurdish songs with the allegation of organisation propaganda has once again shown how wrong the understanding that has interpreted and seen the solution in the context of the Kurdish question as the recognition of only “individual rights and freedoms” from the past to the present, avoiding defining the solution within the context of collective social and political rights, is.”

Eren concluded: “We believe that peace should be the most important and prioritised agenda of Turkey, and therefore we see it as a duty and responsibility towards the society and the country to contact all those responsible for building a process in which peace is talked about again. In this context, we rightfully and strongly invite all actors, social and political dynamics to fulfil their responsibilities to secure an environment of non-conflict for the peaceful and democratic solution of the Kurdish issue.”