GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017
they kill someone? Do they have a corruption allegation against them? No.
They share their opinions, they share their goals with people. In politics if I
can’t talk, if I can’t share my opinions, my ideas with people why am I in
politics? What is the meaning of being in politics? If you are going to solve
your problems with dialogue, with conversation, with negotiation, you have to
talk, you must talk. This is against the law. They cannot put our MPs into jail.
They are still MPs. Myself, I have seven cases against me. They have issued
detention warnings against me as well. Why? Because in some meetings I
have shared my opinions with people. I do not call on people, “Take your guns
and let’s go and fight against the Turkish army”. I did not say something like
that, our friends as well. If you are not going to negotiate, if you are not going
to talk about it, how are we going to solve Kurdish issues, the question of the
Kurdish issue?
I am going to talk about the UK as well. There are a lot of countries around the
world, they say they are very concerned about the situation in Turkey,
especially in regards to our MPs, but when we are looking to the UK, the UK
Government has chosen not to make any independent statement. What did
they do? They do something else? Since 2015 the UK has sold Turkey £330
million worth of arms. Yes. Turkey gets arms from the UK and Turkey uses
those weapons against us, kill us. Silence in the face of what is happening in
Turkey amounts to a complicity. The fight for democracy and the struggle for
the fundamental rights of the Kurdish people in Turkey will continue but it will
be a difficult and painful struggle. It is a struggle that deserves your support.
Thank you very much for your support. I am really, really hopeful and happy
for your support, for your solidarity, for inviting us here. I want to finish it here,
but if you have any questions I would be happy to answer it. (Applause)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, Berdan. That was staggeringly impressive.
SIS BARBARA WHITE: We have spoken about this, but the thing is there is so little
we can do over here, but the one thing we can do is to keep raising this
subject, because it gets so little coverage and I think that is what we all need to
do. It gets so little coverage, so please raise this issue as much as you can.
150
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker