ISTANBUL - Delivering the opening speech of the conference "Opening the Road to Peace", Rıza Türmen said, "Peace can only be achieved by eliminating the reasons that lead to the weapons. The democracy front should propose a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue."

 

The Social Initiative for Peace is organising a conference on "Paving Way to Peace" at Eyüp Sultan Cultural Centre in order to discuss common policies and means of struggle within the framework of a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue. Many politicians, intellectuals and artists from various sectors attended the conference. Former European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Judge Rıza Türmen made the opening speech of the conference.

 

Stating that the law has been abolished in the country, Türmen said that the government should take concrete steps for peace and that the government is trying to protect its position and therefore is trying to damage the relations between the CHP and DEM Party.

 

Türmen said, "Peace comes with the elimination of the reasons that lead to weapons. For the peace process to be successful, the people must be made the subject of the process. If the causes of war are not removed, war will break out again. The biggest obstacle to the socialisation of the process is the oppressive steps of the government."

 

Stressing that a commission should be established in the Parliament, Türmen emphasised that all political parties should have equal number of members in the commission. Türmen said, "We have to struggle for democracy in Turkey. This struggle must include the Kurdish political movement. The democracy front should propose a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue. Today, the CHP must lead this process, not just support or oppose it. It must put forward a concrete plan for a solution."

 

Türmen added: "The Kurdish issue can only be solved with the democratisation of all citizens in the country, the democratisation of the state and the determination of the rules of a multi-identity social life. The Kurdish issue can be solved through pluralist democracy. For this reason, the problem is not only a problem between Kurds and the state, but a problem that concerns the whole country. Therefore, the solution will emerge with the will for a common life. For this, we must find a common language of solution."