Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez speaks at Socialist International Council meeting: Detail regarding İmamoğlu draws attention

Spanish Prime Minister and President of the Socialist International Pedro Sanchez made important statements regarding democracy at the Socialist International Council Meeting held in Istanbul.

In his speech, Sanchez sent greetings to those fighting for democracy around the world, saying, "Everyone in this room has sacrificed a lot to defend democracy. We are going through difficult times. Many of our friends are currently in prison. We stand with our comrades in Belarus, Niger, Venezuela, and Turkey," he said.

However, it drew attention that among these statements, Sanchez did not mention Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is being tried with a request for a political ban and a prison sentence.  

The Spanish Prime Minister spoke at the Socialist International Council Meeting hosted by the CHP in Istanbul. 

Here are Sanchez's statements: 

"I would like to thank our comrades, our friends on the Republican People's Party team for their hospitality and hosting. At the same time, I would like to thank my dear friend Özgür Özel once again for showing strong leadership in a challenging time today. 

We are holding our council in Istanbul, a city where history and cultures unite. It is a city where people from all over the world come together and which carries important lessons. One of these is peace, another is inclusivity, and finally, solidarity. 

Globally, we are witnessing the rise of the far-right in many countries, and we see the culture of fear that its devastating effects create in our countries. We see that people with different views are silenced or persecuted, and our societies are being isolated. We see that the gains made by the middle or lower classes over the years are being attempted to be taken away from them again. These people have also moved to take away women's rights and to portray same-sex marriage as something illegal. This stands against our values. We believe in democracy and we know that the only way to a better future is the will that the majority will show on this issue. We work for our dignity, better jobs, better working conditions, women's rights, equal opportunity, and the rights of minorities. Our ideas and principles envision an inclusive system. Democracy is also one of the most inclusive systems. Of course, it is not a perfect system, but it is the best one we have. We also need to encourage free participation and work to achieve very good results for the majority.

"Everyone in this room has sacrificed a lot to defend democracy, we stand with our comrades in Turkey" 

Democracy is a system of checks and balances that includes the government and the opposition and requires respect for the votes of citizens. Everyone in this room has sacrificed a lot to defend democracy. We are going through difficult times, many of our friends are in prison. We stand with our comrades in Belarus, Niger, Venezuela, and Turkey. We stand with everyone who needs protection. Because something very important is now at stake. No political ideology can stand against this trend the way we can. We are strong and we will win. 

Global challenges require global cooperation because none of us can overcome them alone.

Militarism is on the rise again in many parts of the world. The socialist family and the values that hold it together are always linked to peace. The best fight we can put up against oppression is cooperation. War is something our host country today knows very well. Our stance regarding the war in Ukraine is extremely clear: It is Ukraine's most natural right to live in peace and to guarantee the security of its future. We see the sacrifices made by the Ukrainian people and we are ready to offer our full support to all negotiation processes. Peace in Ukraine is very important to us. 

Our stance regarding the extraordinary situation in Gaza is also clear. This is an absolutely unacceptable situation. Remaining silent and indifferent to this is something our community cannot do. We cannot remain silent while mothers and fathers carry their dead children and children are in danger of dying from hunger. Enough. It is impossible for us to remain silent in a situation where international law is being violated so clearly. 

Our member parties and democrats always raise their voices for peace on this issue. Therefore, our message to Israel again is to end the occupation of Gaza and military operations. The expulsion of Palestinians from their lands is unacceptable and a violation of international law. We are telling Israel to lift the blockade, stop preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, and stop condemning people to die of hunger. Children are dying, medical aid cannot reach them. I would also like to announce to you that Spain and Palestine are preparing a new proposal to submit to the UN General Assembly. We want to include NGOs in this process in the proposal we have prepared to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

"Standing with justice is not being against anyone"

Standing with justice is not being against anyone. It is defending the value we have as human beings. My state has expressed its opinion on the release of Israeli hostages in many points, but we cannot ignore the humanitarian tragedy that Palestinians are exposed to. 

However, we can only establish a long-lasting, permanent peace process through international cooperation.

The tragedies in Ukraine and the Middle East do not mean that we should ignore more than 120 conflicts in many parts of the world. Women and children are losing their lives in attacks on the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Congo; this is one of the greatest humanitarian crises in our history. 

We define ourselves by our commitment to inclusivity and peace, but solidarity is at least as important as these. Our community comes together on the basis of solidarity. We are also carrying it beyond our borders in order to establish a global community. We are watching with concern the developments of the US government, which has stopped supporting and stands against progress and development. We see that they have abandoned their commitments to sustainable development goals and aim to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. 

''The far-right is on the rise, but this rise will of course have a fall"

We need to update ourselves to cope with the responsibilities of today and the future. We need to show all our political power and will again at the EU Conference in my country next June. 

Dear comrades, as I come to the end of my words, I would like to express this: The far-right is on the rise, but this rise will of course have a fall. This is an inevitable situation. When nationalism and extreme nationalism are our only compass, the situation we encounter is always losing our way. As socialists, our duty is to cooperate and build bridges. Solidarity is our greatest strength. 

When the era changes, the people to whom people turn their eyes will be us, the socialists. We need to strengthen our ties at the local level as well with initiatives like the Global Network of Local Governments that we will establish today. We see in many cases that the solution to global problems lies locally. Therefore, let us continue to follow our vision and mission."

HE HAD MET WITH ERDOĞAN YESTERDAY 

Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez met with President Erdoğan at Dolmabahçe yesterday. 

In the meeting where bilateral relations between Turkey and Spain, as well as regional and global issues were discussed, President Erdoğan stated that there is no deviation in Turkey's goal of membership in the European Union, and that a constructive step is expected from the European Union to revitalize the membership process.