April 19, 2006 Police attacked the marchers from the Peoples’ Houses participating in yesterday’s march organized by the progressive groups to demand the withdrawal of Social Security and General Health Insurance draft bill and to disperse them fired on the resisting Peoples’ Houses protesters. Police aggression continued when last night the police again attacked the […]
April 19, 2006
Police attacked the marchers from the Peoples’ Houses participating in yesterday’s march organized by the progressive groups to demand the withdrawal of Social Security and General Health Insurance draft bill and to disperse them fired on the resisting Peoples’ Houses protesters.
Police aggression continued when last night the police again attacked the members when they were leaving People’s Houses Headquarters and arrested three. Many members including administrators were injured.
Today, the directors from the Headquarters and Branches wanted to march to the Parliament to hold a press conference but were stopped by a police barricade. Protesters asked the barricade to be lifted, asserting that it was their right as constituents to talk to their representatives and on their insistence were finally allowed to move on.
The first speaker at the press meeting was Abdullah Aydın, the general Director of the Houses. He said under the rule of the AKP (ruling Party) government, the condition of the people had deteriorated and the country were being colonized. He pointed out that AKP followed IMF’s instructions, completely disregarding the people’s will.
In spite of all this, Aydın said, there were people and People’s Houses who owned up the future and rights of this land, but the police and AKP could not tolerate even the lightest democratic reaction, as evidenced by yesterday’s events. He said they would not let AKP and its collaborators have their way.
The General Secretary of the Houses Ender Büyükçulha then read the press release which in summary said:
AKP completely disregards the principle, “Sovereignty Unconditionally Belongs to People” and follows the instructions of the IMF rather than the will of the people who elected them and who they are supposed to represent and have passed the Social Security and General Health Insurance Bill which completely takes away the peoples social security and healthcare rights.
Furthermore, the people’s rightful demands for a decent and secure future were met with uncalled-for police brutality and aggression. Büyükçulha explained how some media sided not with the people demanding their rights but with the Parliament obeying the IMF and condemned the people marching to the Parliament to make their voices heard and not the police who attacked them.
He said, “People have the power, not the client IMF governments; the right to govern belongs to all people -male or female, children or adult- of the land. The members of People’s Houses are here today, in front of the parliament, to condemn the developments and to make our voices heard.” and emphasized that they would not let the IMF clients to rule the country.
At the end of the meeting, the police announcement that the meeting was illegal was met protests.
Sendika.Org-Ankara
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