Main opposition CHP leader says COVID-19 'showed us necessity to act united'

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader has said that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the necessity for solidarity without prejudice.

“We have to admit that we are going through a very important process. Our country is struggling relentlessly against the COVID-19 pandemic like the whole world. This pandemic has shown us that our prejudices must be eliminated, that we must act together and we must cooperate no matter what our lifestyle is,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said at a press conference on March 23 where he announced the CHP’s proposals to the government to manage the economy during the coronavirus outbreak.

“This pandemic has shown us that if everyone follows the rules, one can stay healthy. This pandemic has shown us that it does not make sense to be healthy on our own, that the other person should be healthy, and that a person we do not know is responsible for the health,” the CHP leader stated.

“The summary of these are: Solidarity is good and strengthens. Assistance is good and strengthens. We will be in solidarity, we will help and we will overcome this pandemic together,” he stated.

The “Economic and Social Council,” which is a constitutional institution that has not been convened since Feb. 5, 2009, should meet urgently, the CHP leader emphasized stating his party’s proposals.

In this process, the council should continue its activities periodically. All the parties involved should be invited to the council meeting; the Turkish Medical Association, the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association, Turkey Union of Chambers of Agriculture, such as [trade union] DİSK, nobody should be excluded, he stressed.

Medical and accommodation needs of health institutions and healthcare personnel should be met with priority and urgency, Kılıçdaroğlu said, noting that the military hospitals should be reopened immediately.

The staff deficit in public health institutions should be resolved quickly, and healthcare workers who were discharged over state emergency decree, and whose definitive provisions were not made, should be returned to their duties, he stated.

In combating the pandemic, maximum attention should be paid to the coordination of central government and municipalities, he said, stressing that the efforts of municipalities, which are not from the ruling party, to overcome the problem should not be hindered.