Sırrı Süreyya Önder: The people aren’t your Playdough anymore

T24 ENGLISH

Sırrı Süreyya Önder, an Istanbul deputy of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), called for the unseating of the governors who were responsible for the use of pepper gas and water cannon against the peaceful demonstrators in their cities.

“This recklessness should not go unpunished,” Önder said.

Önder spoke to NTV on the ninth day of the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul.

Here are some excerpts from what the BDP deputy said: “There is a problem here. Both the Istanbul Governor and the current Governor of Izmir, who eventually announced that those men hitting handicapped citizens with sticks were plaincloth police officers, are governors of the war era. They should be investigated for using violence against people.”

'People aren’t your playdough'

“This recklessness should not go unpunished. The people are not your playdough anymore. Before calling others to be lawful, those who have the control over the public order should clean their own act.”

'Citizens have said, ‘Enough already’!'

“On May 2, I was in the Taksim Square to protest police violence. I spoke at least two or three times in the Gezi Park. If you are the Governor, you have certain responsibilities. The safety of the people is entrusted with you. You should see this and take precautions. When we talk of precaution, what comes to their minds is gas-bombing the people. These are the governors of the war era. I am a deputy of that province. They seize the orphans’ rıghts. All these things piled up and the people said, ‘Enough already’!

Democratic awareness has begun. The people expect to see a clear attitude. We have to encourage them, we have to make them understand this is not merely a matter of daily politics. If the state acts decisively in this matter, our history of democracy will record this incident as an achievement. If anti-democratic methods were to be employed against an elected government, I would stand in front of the tanks the same way I stood before the bulldozers. Eveyone would. People have arrived at this level of democratic consciousness and so should those who govern them.”

'Everyone should learn their lesson'

“Certainly everyone should learn a lesson from these protests, and this includes us. I will tell you, being a socialist, my vote in the local elections always depends on who the candidates are. They try to make this struggle for rights to look as if it were against the peace process. The opposite is true, the most important framework drawn up by the Kurdish people is that of a democratic Turkey in both a legal and constitutional sense.”

'Talks with Öcalan'

“About my being on the delegation (to be sent to İmralı Prison for talks with Öcalan), we never engage in discussion over the names of the people that will go. Contribution to the (peace) process is not limited by one’s being on the delegation. I will continue to make an active contribution. No demands were made of me either by the Ministry (of Justice) or my party. I won’t open my mouth to complain about not being sent there. What is essential is the process itself. It has to be conducted with utmost care. Now the civil society, the academics should also go (to İmralı.) All representatives of the society have questions to ask İmralı. One has to be brave and decisive in these matters, not restrictive.”

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