National Councilor Carlo Sommaruga (PS, Geneva) and National Councilor Fabian Molina (PS, Zurich) will be chairing the event which will see the participation of the following speakers: Ertuğrul Kürkçü, former HDP MP, Yıldırım Kaya, member of the CHP leadership, MP Ankara, Lami Özgen, former President Union KESK Public Services Union, Yurdusev Özsökmenler, former HDP MP, KESK, Mustafa Atici, President PS Migrant-e-s Switzerland, Candidate for the National Council.

The organisers said: "The mayors of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van, who were dismissed by the Turkish Ministry of Interior on 19 August, need our solidarity." 

The election of Ekrem Imamoğlu (CHP) as Mayor of Istanbul in June 2019, said the organisers, "proves that Erdogan's AKP can be defeated if opposition parties like the CHP and the HDP join forces." 

The organisers reminded that in late August, the mayor of Istanbul made a solidarity visit to Diyarbakir and met Selçuk Mızraklı and Ahmet Türk, two of the three dismissed mayors.

The organisers said: "We want to discuss how we can achieve the same opportunities and the same rights for everyone - in Switzerland and also in Turkey. And how can we increase the pressure on Swiss foreign policy to finally and unequivocally commit to ending violence and upholding democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Turkey, instead of pursuing only short-term economic interests."