The SI Council stands beside the many thousands who were walking alongside CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during his Justice March from Ankara to Istanbul, and the millions who turned out at the rally on his arrival in Maltepe. Their peaceful calls for rights, law and justice must be heard.
The Council wholeheartedly supports the demands of the people of Turkey for justice and democracy. Since the failed coup on 15 July 2016, which we condemned, freedoms and rights of the Turkish citizens have been curtailed and many of them find themselves the innocent victims of an indiscriminate crackdown that has left thousands without jobs or arrested.
Crucial tenets of the democratic system have been targeted, such as freedom of expression, as reflected in the continued imprisonment of more than 150 journalists. The forced closure of many media outlets is equally an attack on a pillar of democracy, namely the freedom of the press. The imprisonment of opposition parliamentarians practised by the government of Turkey is completely alien to any democracy, as are the current judicial proceedings against a dozen members of parliament. We condemn all these attacks on the democratic system, in particular the sentencing of MP Enis Berberoğlu of the SI member CHP to 25 years in prison.
The Council of the Socialist International reiterates its support and solidarity to the democratic opposition in Turkey, in face of concerted actions to supress fundamental rights and freedoms on the part of the Turkish government. We have full confidence that all those citizens of Turkey who are today standing up to safeguard democracy and their future will prevail.
The Council fully endorses the Maltepe Call for Justice issued on behalf of millions on 9 July and urges the immediate implementation of the ten demands contained therein.
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