Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakır Branch has released a statement in response to the so-called “democratization package” Turkish Prime Minister announced on 30 September.

Speaking at the press conference at IHD office on Tuesday, IHD Branch Chair Raci Bilici remarked that the package was disappointing and didn't meet the demands and expectations of the oppressed circles and “the others” in the society. Bilici pointed out that the package presented no single steps serving the advancement of the peace process and only a few favorable steps such as the removal of the Turkish national anthem obligation at primary schools and the removal of the ban on headscarf in public institutions.

Remarking that the amendments proposed in the package were inadequate in terms of meeting social demands and ensuring an advancement in the social peace process, Bilici said the package has failed to meet the demands for the

-provision of mother tongue education for everyone,
-practice of arrangements concerning the ten percent election threshold, the anti-terror law and Turkish criminal code and the return to villages,
-abolishment of the village guard system,
-establishment of a Truth and Justice Commission to expose the truth on unsolved killings,
-release of KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) detainees and ill prisoners,
-expansion of the freedom of thought and expression,
-resolution of problems in Turkish jails,
-improvement of PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) leader Abdullah Öcalan's conditions to an extend that will enable him lead the negotiations,
-a solution to the problems of the Alevi community and other religious and ethnic minorities and
-adoption of the European Charter of Local Self Government and many other international conventions.

Bilici underlined that these highlighted points were irrecusable and inalienable issues for the advancement of the peace process, and warned that it would otherwise not be possible to build a country that respects human rights and stands by democracy and freedom.

Bilici continued remarking that individual and collective rights needed a constitutional assurance, and that the ongoing talks with Mr. Öcalan should also be evolved into negotiations for the achievement of permanent and honorable peace.