A previous president of Turkey’s Constitutional Court and a former deputy prime minister joined a group of ex-ministers, lawmakers and academics known as the Democracy Platform in an “Appeal for Peace” on Monday, urging the state to reconcile with Kurds and other marginalized citizens, Turkish Minute reported.
The “Appeal for Peace,” published on World Peace Day, called on the Turkish state to make peace with Kurds and with all citizens who feel marginalized.
“It is not only about armed groups abandoning violence; the state must reconcile with all citizens who are ‘marginalized,’ starting with Kurds,” the appeal says. “We cannot reach a Turkey free of terrorism by disregarding democracy and the rule of law.”
Nineteen figures signed the statement, including former deputy prime minister Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır, former ministers Bahattin Yücel, Ertuğrul Günay, Hakan Tartan, Hüseyin Çelik and Müslüm Doğan, former Constitutional Court president Haşim Kılıç and scholars Doğu Ergil and Mehmet Altan.
The Democracy Platform links peace to the restoration of the rule of law in the country and human rights and frames Turkey’s geography and history as a basis for bridge-building between Europe and the Middle East. The group’s June “Appeal for Justice” made a similar case that justice drives durable peace and economic growth.
The appeal comes as parliament’s multiparty commission works on a framework for a new peace process. Speaker of Parliament Numan Kurtulmuş said the commission aims to complete its work by December 31, with possible two-month extensions.
Turkey “can become a wealthy, secure and peaceful nation” and should “replace the word ‘war’ with ‘peace’” in public life, said the authors, urging “peace at home under the rule of law” and a shift in resources toward policies that foster peace, nature, science and culture.
