Turkey needs equal citizenship for all religions and beliefs

According to Kurdistan Press, Tula Hatem Oğulari, co-chair of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), spoke to representatives of Alawite associations and institutions at the Kazim Karabakr Community Center in the İmraniye district of Istanbul. Hatem Oğulari said that the Dem Party does not see peace as the victory of one side and the defeat of the other; rather, it evaluates it as building a common life based on mutual consent: “Peace will be achieved when 86 million citizens belonging to 72 nations live in justice, freedom and peace.”

Referring to the massacres, suffering and assimilation policies that the Alevis faced in various regions, he said that this community was able to create a wide organization in Turkey and Europe by not giving in to its historical pain.

Referring to the peace and democratic society process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan, the Dem Party co-chair criticized the fact that the Alevis representatives were not heard in the commission related to this process in the Turkish parliament.

Hatem Oğulari said: “We asked the government many times why the Alevis were not listened to. Millions of citizens belong to this religious community and the process cannot proceed without hearing their voices. Peace cannot be built without dialogue with the Alevis.”

She added that the party insisted on the presence of Alevis representatives in the parliament; but the speaker of the Turkish parliament, Numan Kurtulmus, did not agree to this request. Hatem Oğulları called this decision wrong and criticized it once again.