The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan and his delegation attended a public meeting in Bursa.

The meeting within the scope of ‘Bread and Justice Meetings’ was attended by a large number of citizens as well as civil society organisations.

Bakırhan, who was greeted with great enthusiasm upon entering the hall, drew attention to the meetings they organised in many cities within the scope of his campaign and said, “We will come together more and more and we will struggle together.”

Bakırhan said: “We do not come from a political tradition that bows down to the oppressors and stands at attention. We are the continuers of the struggle of Pir Sultan, Seyit Rıza, Sheikh Said, Mazlum, Deniz, Mahir and Ibrahim for brotherhood, peace, humanity and equality.”

Referring to the economic crisis, poor governance, corruption, murders of women, injustice and misery, Bakırhan said, “There is no justice in this country. We know from Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ Leyla Güven Ayşe Gökkan. How do we know that there is no justice in this country? Can Atalay, an elected MP, is in prison despite the Constitutional Court's judgement. Kavala and his friends are being held in prison despite the ECtHR judgement. There is no justice, there is no freedom, the Kurds are arrested because they dance to Kurdish songs.”

“We need our freedom. We need to read, write and dance in our own language,” Bakırhan said, drawing attention to the discussions on the new Constitution: “There is no one who says that the new constitution should not be a democratic civil constitution. Who will you make the new constitution with? A constitution you will make by relying on your majority in the parliament will be like your 22 years in power. We do not say no to a new and civil and democratic constitution, but it should include the demands expressed by our women friends. It should include the Kurdish language, it should provide economic conditions where pensioners and labourers can live humanely. Who can say no to a constitution that covers all the colours of Turkey and the freedom of belief of the Alevi? None of us can. We would not say no to a constitution in which the powers of local governments are improved and local democracy is developed. Then, if they are sincere in the new constitution, they should first comply with the decisions of the ECtHR and the Constitutional Court, and release Selahattin Demirtaş Figen Yüksekdağ in the first place. They should lift the isolation. They should increase the wages of pensioners and minimum wage earners instead of the millions of liras of tax cuts they give to capital. They should secure women's rights and create hope for young people who have lost hope.”

Referring to the wars and crises in the Middle East, Bakırhan said: “The Middle East is in conflict and war. It is this mentality that has brought the Middle East to this state. The nationalist sectarian nation-state mentality in the Middle East has not solved the problem. There is a way for Turkey to be least affected by the chaos and conflict in the Middle East. Turkey is at that important crossroads. It should face the Kurdish question, which it has denied for centuries. It should recognise the equal citizenship rights of Alevis with different beliefs. It should recognise women as equal individuals and make the necessary arrangements, especially the Istanbul Convention, to ensure that women are not murdered and live freely and humanely. The constitution should include all colours in Turkey. The constitution says that we are all brothers and sisters, everyone is a Turk. The others are Arab, Circassian, Kurdish. Therefore, if a new constitution is to be drafted in Turkey, we expect sincerity on this issue. First, the prisons should be emptied, isolation should be lifted, then this capital-friendly government should be a little bit more labourer-friendly, and there should be justice in the economy. Most importantly, all people in Turkey should live in their own colours. They should learn their own language and receive education in their own language. The definition of citizenship should be remade in Turkey.”