September 10, 2006
The labor and pro-democracy forces marched in the nation’s capital, Ankara, demanding the military junta leaders to be brought to justice and to keep the flame burning for those martyrs murdered by the military coup 26 years ago.

The marchers in Ankara organized behind the banner “Anti Coup Platform” at 11:00AM and walked to their first stop, the Ankara radio station where the September 12, 1980 military coup’s first announcement of the military rule was read to the nation.

To counter the military announcement that plunged the country into one of the darkest periods in history, the pro-democracy forces read the “Declaration of Democracy” in front of the radio station. This declaration read, “26 years have passed since the fascist junta declaration was read here at this radio station. The junta leaders had prepared that declaration to make people forget the events occurring in those days and to punish those who demanded a humane way of living and an honorable life with bullets, with dungeons, with torture and with executions. They prepared that declaration against those who demanded a humane health care, a decent education, and a decent housing and against youth, students, teachers, public workers, laborers, peasants and against people who supported such ideas. They prepared that dark declaration against those who demanded light!”

The Declaration of Democracy document also mentioned that the military junta who was still in power today owed a pay back to those who survived torture and imprisonment and were still on the streets today.

The crowd, well over 1000 then marched to the city center. The marchers kept their silence while in front of colleges due to tests being given at the time, but started whistling revolutionary marches when they waked in front of the Peoples Houses organization.

With the marching organizations’ entrance the crowd already gathered at the site of the rally cheered and welcomed the marchers.

The president of the Association of the ’78’ers Ruşen Sümbüloğlu read a prepared joint declaration. The names of the revolutionaries that fell in the dark junta days were read one by one in a roll call fashion. For each name, the crowd responded, “Living among us!”

After the joint declaration, poet Mehmet Özer read the last letter and poem written by Veysel Güney, murdered in execution by the junta before his death. The sister of a revolutionary murdered during torture spoke to the crowd later and remembered all other revolutionaries who had similar fate inside the torture chambers of the Turkish State.

The meeting ended with a concert by well known musical group Grup Vardiya.

Notes on the march and rally

– Friends and relatives of those massacred by the Turkish military junta and the fascist forces, carried the pictures of hundreds of revolutionaries.
– No one organization was organized well enough to dominate the event.
– Communist Party of Turkey chose not to participate in the march. However, they participated in the rally after they marched from another location.

Source: Sendika.org – Ankara
MB.