Main opposition CHP to erect ‘justice monument’ to mark its congress

ANKARA

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The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is planning to erect a monument in the western province of Çanakkale, marking the five-day congress it will hold from Aug. 26 to 30 to criticize the current state of justice in Turkey.

The CHP is planning to build a temporary monument composed of bricks written with the names of the participants. The monument will be located in a conservation area in Çanakkale where the “justice congress” will take place, CHP Deputy Chair Bülent Tezcan said on Aug. 10.

“Our slogan will be ‘place a brick for justice.’ Everyone will bring a brick written with their names. Since Gelibolu is a historical area, the monument will be a symbolic one. It will be a monument with 100,000 to 150,000 bricks,” Tezcan said.

The congress, to be held from Aug. 26 to 30, will take place at the 50-decare Kocadere camping area protected by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. Tents and containers rented from the ministry will be built in the area where the participants will be accommodated.

In the area, there will also be a “Memory Street,” where those who have faced injustice in Turkey and those have suffered from terror will be remembered. In the street, the names of people killed in notorious incidents like the Madımak Hotel fire massacre in 1993 and the Başbağlar massacre carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as well as those killed by torture, will be commemorated.
“Çanakkale will be a city where justice comes to life,” Tezcan said. 


Discussions under eight topics

The party have determined eight different topics to be discussed during the congress which are “justice in court, justice in state, justice in elections, justice in income, justice in belief, justice in education, justice in life, and justice in the media.”

In each session, the participants will have the floor to express their firsthand experiences and testimonies. Later, the experts will discuss possible solutions.

CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu will personally participate in all the sessions.

The party also plans to collect the testimonies in a book.


Invitation to NGO’s and political parties

The party will not display the political party’s identity at the congress but will “only allow the Turkish flag and Ataturk posters,” said Tezcan.

Noting the CHP leader’s 25-day “justice march” from Ankara to Istanbul, “all the party representatives, politicians, NGO’s will be invited,” he said.

“The parties that had said ‘no’ in the constitutional amendment referendum and supported the march, such as the Felicity Party (SP), Democrat Party (DP), People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and Meral Akşener [former Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) member] are expected at the congress,” he added.

“For the future of Turkey to build a culture of reconciliation, for a legal political platform, the most important meeting point is justice,” Tezcan said, adding that there will be “a justice manifesto,” following the congress.