The Constitution Congress organized by the Democratic Congress of the People (HDK) is taking place in Istanbul. Speaking at the congress, Prof. Dr. Gençay Gürsoy noted that the need for a new constitution has risen from the Kurdish issue and that it is a great opportunity for solution as Prof. Dr. Sevtap Yokuþ has said, “A democratic constitution can be created under democratic circumstances. The Constitution will not be new unless it solves the acute problems related to the discrimination.”

Reporting on the congress, DIHA News Agency pointed out that Prof. Gürsoy also emphasized the great demand of the Kurdish people for a new and democratic Constitution. “From those who go up in the mountains, men, women, politicians, even the illiterate and non-Turkish speakers, all want a democratic solution. This is a great opportunity for Turkey,” has noted Gürsoy.

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Istanbul MP Sebahat Tuncel has pointed out that it is not the Justice and Development Party (AKP), People’s Republican Party (CHP) or Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) but the Kurds, the Alevis, the environmentalists, the women and the peace defenders who demand a new Constitution as Prof. Dr. Ýbrahim Kaboðlu has emphasized that only a change in the title would not make a Constitution new. “All problems must be considered as a whole, including the Kurdish issue, the issues of religion and secularism. Writing Constitution of 2013 instead of Consitution of 1982 would not make a Constitution new. The people’s demands must be included in the new Constitution.”