Flaring of Clashes: More Violence For Women

15 womens organisations react to government conduct on Southeast violence saying it means more violence for women. ODP Chairman Kozanoglu protests calls for abandoning of violence, fear, threats and discrimination.

İstanbul

Representatives and supporters of 15 womens' organisations in Turkey gathered at Istanbul's Taksim Streetcar Stop where they protested government conduct with regard to the incidents of violence in Southeast region.

In a statement made in both the Turkish and Kurdish languages on behalf of the organizations, it was emphasized that women and children had been made targets in the recent incidents of violence and that this was not by coincidence.

"As we know as women that renewed clashes in the region will strengthen militarism and nationalism and that this means more oppression and repression for women, we call on all women for solidarity in order to eliminate the environment of violence" the statement said.

The womens' organizations supporting the statement were the Democratic Free Women's' Movement, Independent Feminists, Women of the Socialist Democracy Party, Women of the Labor Party, Women of the EHP, Women of Egitim Sen Branch 8, Women of Egitim Sen Branch 3, Women of Genel Is, Amargi, Gokkusagi [Rainbow], OKD, EKD, Women of Halkevi, Women of HKM, Women of Cagri Magazine and Women of the IHD.

ODP: They were all our citizens

In a separate development, the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP) held a press conference at Istanbul's Galatasaray Square where the recent wave of violence was protested and party supporters laid red carnations to commemorate those who had lost their lives.

ODP Chairman Hayri Kozanoglu said in a statement he made that "those who we have lost in Diyarbakir, in Kocamustafapasa, in Batman and in Bağcılar are all our compatriots, their suffering is our suffering."

Kozanoglu added that in order to avoid living through the same sufferings again, "the language of violence, fear, threats and discrimination needs to be abandoned for the language of love, tolerance, mutual understanding, dialogue and respect to replace it."

"Whoever drags the society into an environment of conflict, whoever is fanning hostilities, searching for a solution in arms, bullets and bombs, we are partial against them" he concluded. (KÖ/II/ YE)