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Over 100 thousand people gathered in Kadiköy Square, İstanbul for “Equal Citizenship against Discrimination” demonstration organized by the Alevi groups.

The demonstration organized by Alevi Bektaşi Federation started at 1 p.m. Alevi people, leftist parties including the Communist Party of Turkey and organizations attended to protest the discriminative policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Ali Balkız made a remark about the previous demonstration held in Ankara and said “On that day the language of peace was spoken, pigeons flied, dear Ferhat Tunç sang songs in Kurdish, Alevi youth danced halay and whirled. In this atmosphere we listed our basic demands”.

Balkız stated that once again but this time in İstanbul they were requesting the same demands: “Department of Religious Affairs and compulsory religion courses at schools must be abolished, our Cemevis (prayer houses of Alevis) shall gain juridical statue, the politics of constructing mosque in Alevi villages must be abandoned, imams and muezzins assigned to these villages must go back, Madımak Hotel (where 33 progressive people died in hire fire set by a reactionary Islamist crowd) must be a museum and primarily Dervish Content of Hacıbektaş and other holy places taken from us and held must be our places again.”

“One year ago, we call on you saying ‘From now on, petition era ended, we will speak at demonstrations’. We are at that point we were once. Republican Peoples Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and AKP speak on this subject from their point of views. Everyone say something within their ideological frameworks. None of those words was belong to us. Empty words! Empty words having no meaning in life, having no inference in reality!” said Balkız.

The participants carried banners and placards writing “Love is our religion”, “Madımak shall be museum”, “Compulsory religion courses must be abolished”, “Religious affairs must be abolished”.

(soL-News Desk)