Wise Persons meet Alevis in Malatya

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Can Paker (R) and Zübeyde Teker attend a Wise Persons meeting in Malatya. AA photo

Members of the Wise Men Commission, which was formed for the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue, met Alevi citizens in the eastern province of Malatya yesterday.

Each comprised of nine people, and assigned to one of the seven regions of Turkey, the Committees will work four days a week, and write a report for six weeks.

The head of the Eastern Anatolia Region Committee, Can Paker, said that Alevis showed a great interest in the meeting and gave their full support to the process, though they had some questions. “They want the resolution of the Kurdish issue, but they also wonder whether the Alevi issue could be resolved one day,” Paker said.

Paker said that even though they had many supporters, some groups opposed them and they were expecting a protest march on Thursday.

Abdurrahman Dilipak, a columnist at daily Yeni Akit and a member of the eastern region team, said they were also being supported by the main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), retired generals, various universities and NGOs.

“It is wondered whether the process would succeed or not. [During the meeting] some even asked whether we made an agreement with the government. And we said we only made a peace agreement. We told them that we would represent their demands,” Dilipak said.

Participation

Dilipak also said those attending the meeting had prepared some notes beforehand, and they discussed and expressed their opinions and suggested proposals to contribute to the peace process. Dilipak said he proposed some projects along with the suggestion of a “Peace Academy,” that would support the peace attempts during his meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “I suggested making a famous brand produce peace t-shirts,” Dilipak said.