Once in parliament we will be a hope for a better future, Onder
Once in parliament we will be a hope for a better future, Onder
Labor, Freedom and Democracy Block Istanbul candidate Sýrrý Süreyya Onder said that he will expose the dirty mask of the the ruling party and make them a laughingstock with his own methods, as well as fulfilling every task given to him within the framework of the group discipline. Addressing the voters, Onder said; “We will be in the Parliament as the real hope and the future of the people. All we want them is to see us as their children.”
Appreciated and strongly supported by various circles as well as the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party), Independent MP Candidate and director-writer Sýrrý Süreyya Onder gained recognition with the film Beynelmilel (International) which was written, directed and played by him. Onder was also known because of his columns on various papers. Now he came to be known by people also as the Istanbul First Region MP candidate for the Labor, Freedom and Democracy Block. We talked to Onder who is currently a columnist for the daily paper Ozgur Gündem about his reasons to go into politics, his work, Turkish politics and the role he will take in the Parliament.
* The public would know you because of your cinema and cultural work. What made you go into politics?
- I am positioned on left coordinates, I make a point of my being a left wing person, all my works are political. I regard this period as special from two points of view. The first aspect is the cooperation process which has more or less been tried up to now, has worked at times but stumbling for seven years. This process has for the first time been carried beyond a simple electoral alliance: the efforts have been directed towards the developing of a cooperation strategy. The second aspect is that the war has now developed into something very present in everybody's life: it is a matter of life and death for an entire people, and it is being acknowledged . In this sense, the Constitution written after the 1980 military coup was promising freedom but had been imposed on the nation and it failed within the first three months of it being adopted. This issue will be one of the first on the agenda in the new period. And I have been one of the people agreeing to this alliance in consideration of all these. I was asked to take this responsibility and task and in conscience I couldn’t and didn’t remain untouched by this request.
* When we look at Turkey's socialist-revolutionary movement, we see that a different road has been taken from that of the past, especially as far as the Kurdish question is concerned. The nationalist separation can be seen clearly. How do you assess the relation between the left and the Kurdish movement?
- It would be wrong to restrict this to individual names. In fact, there was a separation, which was however not surprising. Separation has been witnessed in almost every country, is part of the history of all peoples, and it has followed a similar way in every period of history. The war conditions made this separation process faster. I am one of those who think that we should be optimistic about those who have followed a more nationalist line: our task is of constantly talking to them in order to make them abandon that path. We should decide in which manner and methods to do this after great consideration because the people who have chosen that path has a past of revolutionary struggle and has a left political intelligence and experience. They are the most natural basis for us and the circles with the highest potentiality to join us. We should always making an effort to achieve this task. I also think that my being here could serve to such a purpose.
* Since the date your candidacy became clear, you have received some criticism, particularly from the media for being a candidate for the Kurds. How did you respond to these criticisms?
- I find the praises odd, not the criticisms which are much real and point to my stand. I am a person defending the struggle of the peoples of the world. Those criticising me don’t find it troubling to express opinions about current issues but my consistent and clear stand somehow disrupt their black propaganda policies. They cannot understand this and, as a consequence of it, they attack me.
* Ankara politics, as the saying goes, lost its marbles with the secret sex video recordings of politicians and the unethical manners of political leaders before people. Does this present desolating scene discourage you?
- Huseyin Avni Ulaþ, the father of political liberals, says; “I am afraid of the dirty tricks of the state, not of its power.’ This frightens me too as this is not something we are accustomed to. We don’t have any reflex against it. We live the life in the way we perceive it and in accordance with our own moral. However, the presentation format of this kind of operations could turn into a great troublesome propaganda. What we must do is to be aware of this and to live with a greater attention. We have nothing more to be afraid of. As life styles, we live before the public eye and we will continue to live with them in future. But we shall keep in mind that they will be working harder on us from now on.
* Clashes are increasing. People are looking for the bodies of their children in clash areas. How do you assess these events?
- The slogan ‘Êdî Bese’ (Enough now) was heard all over the place. Now the meaning of that slogan appears as clear as ever. All together as a people, Kurds have now overcome the wall of fear. This is the picture where people have enough of listening to advices. This is the picture where a people trying to decide of their own future has become a matter of life or death. Both Kurdish revolutionaries and the government must see this picture well. If Kurdish revolutionaries and all of us together don’t take a serious look at this picture, at the will of the people and find answers, we would seriously face the danger of staying behind them, of losing control of the situation.
* Tension is rising as the election day nears. What worries you before the election? Are the elections going to be safe?
- This country has not witnessed safe elections in 40 years but this period has a special importance attached to it. This is the first time those who stand for labor, democracy and freedom actually stand side-by-side in a wider election front and they do so of their own free will. It wouldn’t be presumptuous to say that this situation worries the ruling class whose aim is ultimately to eliminate this front by any means. This, I think, the comment closest to the truth. The way the Kurds have claimed their identity and their will has never been so widespread and clear. Their will and claims give enough reasons to expect and be prepared to all kinds of provocations, which could seriously affect the safety of the elections.
* In the previous Parliamentary term, Ufuk Uras enjoyed a similar support to that you are enjoying today. This was a case of meaningful cooperation. What will be your first steps in parliament?
-First I have to say that this is not an individual action, we are part of a block, of a coalition movement, with its own manifesto. After the elections, if the block would have succeeded, there will be a group discipline, and we all should be following this discipline and be accountable to it. All of us have accepted to act according to this group discipline, and this clearly also means sharing responsibility and work. I cannot predict what would be my share or work, but my priority will certainly be to duly perform my duties. I feel that exposing the disinformation about the Kurdish people will be something I will certainly work on. Removing the masks and exposing the lies of the ruling party is something I have already made so far.
* And what about cinema? Once in Parliament would you be able to work on cinema ?
- Cinema is not something you can do as an hobby; this would be unfair to cinema. I would certainly like to continue my work in cinema if conditions are suitable and I thing I can at least write scripts. As I have always written my former scripts while doing other things, I guess and hope that a channel will always remain open in the field of script, at least.
* During this election campaign you have been on the spotlight on a daily basis. You are always among people. I wander whether you also look around you from the perspective of a film-maker? What do you see?
- Well, to tell you the truth, to begin with, that perspective got me bored in the first several days but I later found it immoral as it would be inappropriate to think with a cinema eye in such a deep reality where eyes and hearts should be ready to take in more from life . On the other hand, I guess you don’t have to keep the cinema eye open at every moment. Details fill a place in your mind, ferment there and come out when the time comes.
* What would you like to say to your voters?
- We consider ourselves as the children of the oppressed, the poor and the forgotten. We are going to be in the Parliament to represent their real hope and the future. All we want from them is to see us as their children.”
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
Appreciated and strongly supported by various circles as well as the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party), Independent MP Candidate and director-writer Sýrrý Süreyya Onder gained recognition with the film Beynelmilel (International) which was written, directed and played by him. Onder was also known because of his columns on various papers. Now he came to be known by people also as the Istanbul First Region MP candidate for the Labor, Freedom and Democracy Block. We talked to Onder who is currently a columnist for the daily paper Ozgur Gündem about his reasons to go into politics, his work, Turkish politics and the role he will take in the Parliament.
* The public would know you because of your cinema and cultural work. What made you go into politics?
- I am positioned on left coordinates, I make a point of my being a left wing person, all my works are political. I regard this period as special from two points of view. The first aspect is the cooperation process which has more or less been tried up to now, has worked at times but stumbling for seven years. This process has for the first time been carried beyond a simple electoral alliance: the efforts have been directed towards the developing of a cooperation strategy. The second aspect is that the war has now developed into something very present in everybody's life: it is a matter of life and death for an entire people, and it is being acknowledged . In this sense, the Constitution written after the 1980 military coup was promising freedom but had been imposed on the nation and it failed within the first three months of it being adopted. This issue will be one of the first on the agenda in the new period. And I have been one of the people agreeing to this alliance in consideration of all these. I was asked to take this responsibility and task and in conscience I couldn’t and didn’t remain untouched by this request.
* When we look at Turkey's socialist-revolutionary movement, we see that a different road has been taken from that of the past, especially as far as the Kurdish question is concerned. The nationalist separation can be seen clearly. How do you assess the relation between the left and the Kurdish movement?
- It would be wrong to restrict this to individual names. In fact, there was a separation, which was however not surprising. Separation has been witnessed in almost every country, is part of the history of all peoples, and it has followed a similar way in every period of history. The war conditions made this separation process faster. I am one of those who think that we should be optimistic about those who have followed a more nationalist line: our task is of constantly talking to them in order to make them abandon that path. We should decide in which manner and methods to do this after great consideration because the people who have chosen that path has a past of revolutionary struggle and has a left political intelligence and experience. They are the most natural basis for us and the circles with the highest potentiality to join us. We should always making an effort to achieve this task. I also think that my being here could serve to such a purpose.
* Since the date your candidacy became clear, you have received some criticism, particularly from the media for being a candidate for the Kurds. How did you respond to these criticisms?
- I find the praises odd, not the criticisms which are much real and point to my stand. I am a person defending the struggle of the peoples of the world. Those criticising me don’t find it troubling to express opinions about current issues but my consistent and clear stand somehow disrupt their black propaganda policies. They cannot understand this and, as a consequence of it, they attack me.
* Ankara politics, as the saying goes, lost its marbles with the secret sex video recordings of politicians and the unethical manners of political leaders before people. Does this present desolating scene discourage you?
- Huseyin Avni Ulaþ, the father of political liberals, says; “I am afraid of the dirty tricks of the state, not of its power.’ This frightens me too as this is not something we are accustomed to. We don’t have any reflex against it. We live the life in the way we perceive it and in accordance with our own moral. However, the presentation format of this kind of operations could turn into a great troublesome propaganda. What we must do is to be aware of this and to live with a greater attention. We have nothing more to be afraid of. As life styles, we live before the public eye and we will continue to live with them in future. But we shall keep in mind that they will be working harder on us from now on.
* Clashes are increasing. People are looking for the bodies of their children in clash areas. How do you assess these events?
- The slogan ‘Êdî Bese’ (Enough now) was heard all over the place. Now the meaning of that slogan appears as clear as ever. All together as a people, Kurds have now overcome the wall of fear. This is the picture where people have enough of listening to advices. This is the picture where a people trying to decide of their own future has become a matter of life or death. Both Kurdish revolutionaries and the government must see this picture well. If Kurdish revolutionaries and all of us together don’t take a serious look at this picture, at the will of the people and find answers, we would seriously face the danger of staying behind them, of losing control of the situation.
* Tension is rising as the election day nears. What worries you before the election? Are the elections going to be safe?
- This country has not witnessed safe elections in 40 years but this period has a special importance attached to it. This is the first time those who stand for labor, democracy and freedom actually stand side-by-side in a wider election front and they do so of their own free will. It wouldn’t be presumptuous to say that this situation worries the ruling class whose aim is ultimately to eliminate this front by any means. This, I think, the comment closest to the truth. The way the Kurds have claimed their identity and their will has never been so widespread and clear. Their will and claims give enough reasons to expect and be prepared to all kinds of provocations, which could seriously affect the safety of the elections.
* In the previous Parliamentary term, Ufuk Uras enjoyed a similar support to that you are enjoying today. This was a case of meaningful cooperation. What will be your first steps in parliament?
-First I have to say that this is not an individual action, we are part of a block, of a coalition movement, with its own manifesto. After the elections, if the block would have succeeded, there will be a group discipline, and we all should be following this discipline and be accountable to it. All of us have accepted to act according to this group discipline, and this clearly also means sharing responsibility and work. I cannot predict what would be my share or work, but my priority will certainly be to duly perform my duties. I feel that exposing the disinformation about the Kurdish people will be something I will certainly work on. Removing the masks and exposing the lies of the ruling party is something I have already made so far.
* And what about cinema? Once in Parliament would you be able to work on cinema ?
- Cinema is not something you can do as an hobby; this would be unfair to cinema. I would certainly like to continue my work in cinema if conditions are suitable and I thing I can at least write scripts. As I have always written my former scripts while doing other things, I guess and hope that a channel will always remain open in the field of script, at least.
* During this election campaign you have been on the spotlight on a daily basis. You are always among people. I wander whether you also look around you from the perspective of a film-maker? What do you see?
- Well, to tell you the truth, to begin with, that perspective got me bored in the first several days but I later found it immoral as it would be inappropriate to think with a cinema eye in such a deep reality where eyes and hearts should be ready to take in more from life . On the other hand, I guess you don’t have to keep the cinema eye open at every moment. Details fill a place in your mind, ferment there and come out when the time comes.
* What would you like to say to your voters?
- We consider ourselves as the children of the oppressed, the poor and the forgotten. We are going to be in the Parliament to represent their real hope and the future. All we want from them is to see us as their children.”
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
