Meral Danish Besitas: 86 million people will benefit from the results of the peace process

According to KurdPress, Meral Danish Besitas, the joint spokesperson of the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), and a representative of the Peoples' Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party) in the Turkish Parliament, said in a speech at a public meeting in the city of Qovancilar, a part of the province of Harbet, that the peace process does not only concern the Kurds, and 86 million Turkish citizens will benefit from its results in areas such as the economy, democracy, environment, and women's and youth rights.Placards with slogans such as “Organize locally and build peace” and “Free and organized society for a democratic republic” were displayed at the event.

After hearing the citizens’ criticism of the government, Beştaş said that they (the Dem Party) have always defended peace, brotherhood and equality: “I understand the anger, the reaction, the suffering and the history very well. I am not in a different position from you. We also experience and follow these issues; but when discussing an issue, we should ask, what will happen if this does not happen?”

We have millions of reasons to believe in peace

The HDK joint spokesperson stated: “We may have thousands of reasons not to believe in peace, but we also have millions of reasons to believe in it. In many countries of the world, conflicts have been resolved through dialogue and negotiation."

He added, referring to the experiences of countries ranging from Colombia and the Philippines to African countries, Spain and the United Kingdom: "We too should not pass on this conflict and division to future generations."

Also condemning the attack on seasonal hazelnut workers in the Black Sea region, Beştaş said: "A racist attack on a Kurdish worker cannot be a reason to oppose peace. On the contrary, action must be taken to punish the perpetrators and prevent the recurrence of such attacks, and the language of peace must be spread."

Parties must support the process

Recalling the formation of a dialogue table with the presence of parties that, according to him, represent 96-97 percent of the parliament, Beştaş stated that only the good party is present in this mechanism, and parties such as the MHP, the Democratic Party, the New Welfare Party and the New Path have also expressed their views.He added: “Now these parties should support the process they have participated in, and we should demand the same from them. We know that the MHP has held meetings in 81 provinces and explained the process to its social base. The AKP came later, but they also say that this process will not be completed all at once and will proceed step by step.”

Beştaş also said that four sub-commissions have been established under the supervision of the vice president and that Abdullah Öcalan is to participate in the activities of the disarmament and strategic coordination sub-commission.

He continued: “These may not be big steps, but they are steps that have been taken. We know that more needs to be done and the language needs to change.As far as we follow the media, the language of the media close to the government has changed about the process and instead of the previous aggressive language, they are using language in support of the process.”

The peace process concerns the whole society

Meral Danish Beştaş continued to criticize the approach of some anti-government media outlets, saying: “Some networks continue to insult us. We had previously said that a building for activities and work has been established in Imrali, but despite this, some media outlets target it using expressions like a villa.”

She emphasized: “Turkey is in search of peace. We are talking about a process that will benefit 86 million people. This process encompasses the whole society, from the economy and democracy to the environment, women and youth; we are talking about a peace process that will benefit everyone.”