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New Year's message from Can Atalay: 'It is only justice if it manifests for the one at the very bottom'

Gezi convict and former MP from the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), Can Atalay, issued a call for justice as he entered 2025. In his New Year's message, Atalay stated, "Justice can only truly be called justice if it 'manifests' for the one at the very bottom, for the one in the most unequal position." Emphasizing social justice, Atalay called on everyone to make a pact to work toward equality, freedom, brotherhood, and justice in 2025.

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Gezi convict and former MP from the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), Atalay, shared his New Year's message via X. Addressing citizens, labor and democracy forces, and the people of Hatay separately, Atalay said the following:

"Dear citizens, shall we make a pact with each other on the threshold of a new year? Everyone remembers the phrase 'the manifestation of justice.' It has reached all of our ears. We all know justice in one way or another; even if it is flawed, we can describe it. But how many of us have thought about what 'manifestation' (tecelli) means and looked it up in a dictionary? Coming from the Arabic root 'clw', 'tecelli' refers to enlightenment, specifically the appearance of a divine truth. 'Polish' (cila) and 'flair' (cilve) also come from the same root; let us think of it as 'brightness,' 'polishing,' or 'illumination.' Furthermore, in the Encyclopedia of Islam, 'tecelli' is also defined as the emergence of the existence of the Truth (at various levels). In other words, 'justice' is so important, so very important, that our culture and our elders equated it with a divine light, a sudden flash of brilliance. Justice can only manifest..."


"JUSTICE CAN ONLY TRULY BE CALLED JUSTICE IF IT MANIFESTS FOR THE ONE AT THE VERY BOTTOM, FOR THE ONE IN THE MOST UNEQUAL POSITION"

Both in our country and in our world, it is not justice but injustices that are being discussed. In the new year, shall we make a pact to be more concerned with justice and injustice, to fight for justice, and to stand shoulder to shoulder for the manifestation of justice? Shall we start by listing the workers who lost their lives while earning their bread, our retirees and laborers who are treated almost like social waste, the parents who worry that their children might fall into the hands of some gang or get caught up in drugs, our women under threat, our slaughtered nature, our earthquake survivors who still cannot return to their homes, and in short, the millions who expect rights and law in every field? Justice can only truly be called justice if it 'manifests' for the one at the very bottom, for the one in the most unequal position. Let us demand justice. Let us say Social Justice for justice. More. Much more! As we enter 2025, shall we make a pact to raise the voice of 'justice' even higher?


To the labor and democracy forces,


In the new year, I wish for each of us and all of us a discernment to define what is as it is, a courage to list what needs to be done and determine priorities, a wisdom to meet on the minimum/necessary common grounds regarding the visible future in line with these priorities, and a political language that will weave our rights and freedoms step by step, gain by gain. May 2025 be a year where we do everything that can be done on the path of equality, freedom, brotherhood, and justice!


"I WELCOME THE NEW YEAR WITH THE LONGING FOR THE DAYS I WILL BE WITH YOU"

Dear people of Hatay,


You are welcoming the new year in your destroyed city that has not yet been rebuilt, or while waiting for the day you can return to the city or neighborhood that belongs to you...


Because the necessary precautions were not taken on February 6, and search and rescue operations arrived days later, the earthquake turned into a disaster rarely seen. You asked for 'justice,' and the situation is clear. Approximately 255,000 houses are waiting to be built. A promise was made that 'all houses will be delivered within a year'; about 33,000 have been delivered.


In Hatay, only about 13 percent of this promise was kept. You are persevering in a city where even some of the rubble has not been cleared, yet the state of force majeure has been lifted; you are naturally uneasy about the developments right next to you, the dangerous uncertainties, and the threatening rhetoric used in some channels; but you have not lost hope in your city or your country, you are fighting: Hope is in you. In such difficult days, I would have liked to be by your side and stand shoulder to shoulder with you to overcome the problems. I welcome the new year with the longing for the days I will be with you."