The Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association (PSAKD) held a press conference at the Mülkiyeliler Association (an organization of alumni from the Faculty of Political Science at Ankara University) to announce the commemoration they will hold on July 2, marking the anniversary of the Madımak massacre in which 33 intellectuals were killed. Cuma Erçe, Chairperson of the PSAKD, addressed the press conference together with members of the association and made the following call: “We invite all our friends who stand for labor, secularism, and equality, who dream of a free and fraternal Turkey filled with light, who are the voice of the people and the light in the darkness, to join us in Sivas on July 2 or to take to the streets wherever they are. We call for united struggle against fascist and fundamentalist encirclement. We have not forgotten, we will not forget, and we will not let it be forgotten.”

The perpetrators were protected by the political authorities

Cuma Erçe described the Madımak massacre, in which 33 people lost their lives, as one of the darkest and most shameful atrocities in the history of humanity. He stated that even after 32 years, neither their pain nor their anger has diminished. Erçe said: “Justice has not been served. While the majority of the perpetrators went unpunished, those who were convicted were pardoned and released. A crime against humanity was allowed to expire under the statute of limitations. There has been no confrontation with the massacres that took place before Sivas, no reckoning with what happened in Sivas itself, nor with the massacres that followed. None of the atrocities have been accounted for. No one has been held responsible. Because the perpetrators were directly protected by the political authorities.”

Alevis must have a voice in the constitution

Cuma Erçe also spoke about the ongoing debates surrounding the resolution of the Kurdish question. He stated: “A peace that does not pass through Haji Bektash, Dersim, and Madımak is incomplete and unjust for Alevis. No issue, especially the Kurdish question and the Alevi issue, can be resolved without confrontation and reckoning. Alevis have always stood on the side of peace, but any peace built without truth and accountability is doomed to collapse from the very beginning. Today, discussions on a new constitution are also underway. Yet once again, Alevis are not at the table, nor are workers, women, or Kurds. A social contract written without us can never be equal, free, or fraternal. Alevis are not only the conscience of this country; they are also a founding will. That is why Alevis must have a voice in the new constitution, not merely as a topic, but as subjects and as a founding force.”