Democracy declaration on Turkish main opposition party wall

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) hung a poster of their “Freedom and Democracy” declaration on the party headquarters today.

The declaration, consisting of 17 articles which had earlier been made public by CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, began with the statement: “This is our call to all who want serenity, democracy and peace.”

The statement contained the following demands:

“The 10 percent election threshold shall be abolished. Democracy and the human rights shall be respected. The nation shall elect the deputies of the nation. Freedom of thought and expression shall be guaranteed. We shall ameliorate the freedom of assembly and association. Freedom of religion and conscience shall be protected, equal opportunities shall be granted to every belief. Freedom of press shall be provided. The shame of the arrested students must be ended. Specially authorized courts shall be abolished. The way for retrial shall be opened. Freedom to the deputies of the people shall be granted. The procedure of secret witness and illegal eavesdropping shall be put to an end. The unknown murders shall be resolved. Nevruz shall be an official holiday. The Uludere massacre shall be enlightened. A museum shall be built instead the Diyarbakır prison. The mined fields shall be cleared and given to the peasants.”