Human rights advocate and academic Fatma Bostan Ünsal has called on the Turkish government to take tangible political and legal steps in addition to rhetorical gestures within the ongoing "Peace and Democratic Society Process," warning that further delay would deepen the country’s crises.
Doğukan Kudat, Chair of the Dersim Bar Association, called on the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) to establish legal monitoring and observation committees in light of ongoing talks around the resolution of the Kurdish issue. Hakkari (Colemêrg) Bar Association Chair Ergün Canan added, “A commission will be formed in Parliament, followed by legal reforms.”
Known to the public since 2005 for catching soldiers red-handed attempting to bomb his bookstore amid debates on solving the Kurdish issue through dialogue, Seferi Yılmaz said: "Everyone must work day and night for peace against war profiteers."
Writer Faik Tac, who participated in the festival in Tetwan, said: “Öcalan’s call has opened the door to a new era for art as well. Let’s hold firmly to the process. If the bans are lifted, society will breathe.”
Many people including former İzmir mayor Tunç Soyer and CHP Provincial Chair Şenol Aslanoğlu were detained in the morning hours within the investigation launched by İzmir Public Prosecutor's Office against İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.
Ill prisoner Kerim Boran was released from prison after his sentence was cancelled.
Mothers who lost their relatives during the conflict emphasised the need for unity among Kurds.
A group of 39 people, who want to meet Abdullah Öcalan, will come to Turkey from Europe and hold process-orientated contacts.
Representatives of civil society organisations and political parties in Mersin have called on the government to take steps without delay.
The sentence of Kerim Boran, an 81-year-old seriously ill prisoner in Edirne F-Type Closed Prison, has been cancelled by AKP Leader and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Stating that the descendants of Şêx Seîd (Sheikh Said) did not give up their struggle and today the whole world is talking about Kurds and their struggle, DBP Co-chair Keskin Bayındır said. “We will build a ‘Peace and Democratic Society’ by protecting Mr Öcalan’s will for a solution.”
Speaking at the “Labour in Democratic Society Workshop” held in Amed (Diyarbakır), People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Co-deputy Chair Sevtap Aktag said: “We need to be builders of an equal and free life, not watchers.”
Disabled individuals shared their views on the new process toward resolving the Kurdish issue, emphasizing that war increases the number of disabled people and highlighting the importance of peace.
The Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled that the right to life was not violated in the case of 17 year old Rozerin Cukur, who was shot during a curfew in the Sur district of Amed (Diyarbakır). While the legal process continues with allegations that Cukur was a “terrorist organization member”, lawyers have taken the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Representatives of professional journalist organisations reacted to the threats against our reporter Zeynep Durgut over her news report and stressed that those who threatened her should be put on trial.