Alevis meet in 'Democratic Turkey Meeting' in İstanbul
Alevis gathered on Sunday (December 10) in Kadıköy in response to the call from Alevi associations. A rally was held with demands for "Secular education, humane living, democratic Turkey."
The Alevi Bektashi Federation (ABF), the European Alevi Union Confederation (AABK), the Alevi Associations Federation (ADFE), Hacı Bektaş Veli Anatolian Culture Foundation (HBVAKV), Alevi Cultural Associations (AKD), Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association (PSAKD), Democratic Alevi Associations (DAD), and the Anatolian Alevi Souls Federation, along with numerous unions, professional organizations, and party representatives, also participated in the rally.
The banner: Imam to the mosque!
Mustafa Aslan, the President of the Alevi Bektashi Federation, criticized the country's shift towards a "Turkish-style Sharia", emphasizing the need for secular, scientific, and mother tongue education in his speech:
"As Alevi people, at a time when the country is increasingly moving towards fascism, towards a Turkish-style Sharia, we are standing up for our motherland and for the republic. We are not deniers or dogmatists, as some claim. This country belongs to us."
"We will strive for the democratization of this country. We declare that we will transform this country into a flower field where everyone can express their language, faith, color freely and comfortably. We insist on education being secular and scientific. However, what is the government doing? They are turning the schools into religious schools. Despite the shortage of teachers and hungry students in schools, they appoint imams to schools. Together, we demand secular, scientific, and mother tongue education."
ÇEDES project
Religious officials such as imams, preachers, religious services experts, and Quran course instructors appointed as "spiritual counselors" are providing "values education" to students in MEB schools in this school year in the scope of the "I Am Sensitive to My Environment, I Value My Values (ÇEDES)" project signed between the Ministry of National Education (MEB), the Presidency of Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The banner: The Circassians are demanding equal citizenship rights for everyone.
In a joint statement on behalf of Alevi organizations, Seher Şengüllü Yılmaz and Cuma Erçe criticized the bilateral agreements with Israel, stating, "Those who commit war crimes in Syria cannot call for peace in the Middle East." In their speeches where they also greeted the Saturday Mothers/People, they continued:
"Let us build a Turkey where Alevis, who have paid the price and long for secular education and humane living, can thrive. We collectively object to those who polarize society, deny, and assimilate. We shout for unity, solidarity, and peace. We stand shoulder to shoulder with those who are marginalized due to their identity, sexual orientation, or beliefs."
"The mindset that lets the Madımak case, one of the foremost crimes against humanity, reach the statute of limitations, releases the killers of our 33 compatriots, and sets free the killers of our brother Hrant Dink, women, child abusers, mafia leaders, and drug lords while unjustly and unlawfully imprisoning revolutionaries, socialists, intellectuals, and journalists, is the same mindset. Disregarding even the antidemocratic constitution of September 12 [1980], not adhering to the decisions of the Constitutional Court, and wagging fingers at legal professionals is dictatorship. Imposing a trustee on the Turkish Medical Association is dictatorship."
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Various socialist organizations and Women's Councils also had a significant presence at the rally. Among the politicians attending were Tülay Hatimoğulları, Co-Chair of HEDEP, and Özgür Çelik, CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman.(NK/HA/PE)