January 24, 2006 A group of gangsters known as the “A Team” attacked a group of Ankara Çankaya Local Government workers as they grouped to protest the recent attacks and to give a press release on January 20th 2006. Many workers including the union representatives were wounded in the attack. Ankara is the capital of […]
January 24, 2006
A group of gangsters known as the “A Team” attacked a group of Ankara Çankaya Local Government workers as they grouped to protest the recent attacks and to give a press release on January 20th 2006. Many workers including the union representatives were wounded in the attack. Ankara is the capital of Turkey with Çankaya being the most central and largest county in the district.
The mayor Muzaffer Eryılmaz was named in the press release and other complaints voiced by the workers as the responsible person who had hired and gathered the goons to attack the laborers there. News sources also indicate the mayor’s involvement in hiring the goons and planning the scare tactics against the workers.
Likewise, on Jan 17th, 2006 the mayor had spoken at a press conference where he labeled the municipality workers as “not doing their jobs” and accused them of “belonging to other parties than the CHP (Mayor’s Republican Peoples’ Party).” To answer the accusations that he was terrorizing the workers, he had said, “They will see what terror is from now on!”
The attacks were immediately condemned by KESK (Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions) and Tüm Bel-Sen (Union of Municipality Workers) and many other institutions and unions. Many of these institutions asked mayor Muzaffer Eryılmaz to resign.
The democratic organizations and other unions are getting together to find a way to join forces to put a stop to these attacks from the local government to the workers there. They are also aiming to hold the mayor personally responsible for such attacks.
Answering a call from Tüm Bel Sen, there will be a massive press release in front of the Municipality Offices on Thursday, January 26th 2006 at 12:30.
Peoples’ Houses organization, active in the county, has decided to fully participate in the press release and also to take its place in the solidarity with the laborers. The Central Committee of the Peoples’ Houses is meeting in an emergency session to decide on the next steps needed to support the workers.
Source Halkevleri (Peoples’ Houses) Press Office.
G.Y.