TKP protest over 'Can Atalay': This country is not your private farm

Although the Constitutional Court's ruling that there was a "violation" is indisputably binding, the parliamentary status of TİP Hatay MP Can Atalay was unlawfully stripped in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) last Tuesday.

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), which issued a statement regarding the incident saying, "This country is not your private farm," called for a protest at Kadıköy Rıhtım Square against the stripping of Atalay's parliamentary status.

During the protest held today at 20:00, slogans such as "The working class will hold the AKP accountable," "Do not bow down, stand up for your country," and "The working class will hold the AKP accountable" were chanted.

"THEY MADE THIS DECISION BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE FORGET THE JUNE RESISTANCE"

According to the report on SoL Portal; TKP Central Committee member and Istanbul Provincial Chair Senem Doruk said regarding the stripping of Atalay's status, "The conviction he received during the Gezi Resistance is the real reason for this decision." Doruk continued her words as follows:

"And the real reason is this: The government is deathly afraid of the June Resistance, even though 10 years have passed. Because during the Gezi Resistance, millions in this country filled the streets and squares, saying 'Government resign.' That is why the government is afraid of that resistance and of the people who took to the streets during that resistance."

"They made this decision because they are trying to forget and make people forget the June Resistance, and the hope and power that took to the streets during the June Resistance," said Doruk, concluding her speech with the following remarks: "They disregarded the rules while making this decision. We have come together today against this lawlessness, and we are raising our voices. We declare that we do not recognize this injustice or this lawlessness. The only thing to do in that Parliament is to fight. Our struggle will continue until we remove the reactionaries, the cultists, and the bosses from that Parliament, and until we make that Parliament the people's parliament."

"THEY WILL DISAPPEAR IN THE CONSCIENCE OF THE PEOPLE"

Dersim Mayor and Kadıköy Mayoral Candidate Fatih Mehmet Maçoğlu also attended the protest. Speaking at the protest, Maçoğlu said, "We are here today against those who are trying to imprison our comrade Can unlawfully."

Emphasizing that the stripping of Atalay's parliamentary status is a violation of rights, Maçoğlu used the following expressions in his speech:

"We know that there are socialists and communists who have been fighting in these lands for 100 years. We know that we have comrades who fight against injustice, and Can was one of them. Let them know well; those who have been violating rights for two days are being disregarded in the conscience of the people. Let them know well; those who strip the status of those elected by these people will disappear in the eyes and conscience of these people. This is an interference with the choice of the people of Hatay.

They are afraid, and they will continue to be afraid. In this country, the will of the people will prevail against the tyrants and those who commit oppression. We will win. No matter what they do, they have nowhere left to run. The oppressed and the working people in these lands are coming together shoulder to shoulder. In the coming period, let each of them know well that they will face the consequences of their actions and will disappear in the conscience of the people."

"IT IS NOT CAN ATALAY WHO IS BEING PUNISHED, BUT THE PEOPLE"

TKP Kartal Mayoral Candidate Gökmen Dumlu, who stated, "I will be there for my faculty friend, my colleague, my friend Can Atalay," also gave a speech at the protest.

"It is not Can Atalay who is being punished, but the people. As the people, as his friends, as his comrades, we are in solidarity with him," said Dumlu, continuing his words:

"Can Atalay is never alone, the people of Hatay are never alone. Can has advocated with honor and integrity in many social cases to this day. He was the people's lawyer, and the people's lawyers are not alone. On the day Can received his sentence, he said, 'We will not bow down to oppression.' I repeat it from here. Can Atalay is not alone."

"IT IS NO DIFFERENT FROM MARCH 12 AND SEPTEMBER 12"

Another person who spoke at the protest was artist Orhan Aydın.

Stressing that "Lawsuits conducted with orders from a single mouth, decisions made, and summaries of proceedings read in Parliament are no different from March 12 and September 12," Aydın's speech was as follows:

"This order has rotted; there is a need for a new one. There is a need for an equal, independent, socialist republic. I am a friend of yours who lived through the fascism of March 12 and September 12. During that period, the parliament was rendered dysfunctional, and the courts were rendered dysfunctional. Martial law courts and military courts were effectively put into operation. What is happening today is no different from these. Lawsuits conducted with orders from a single mouth, decisions made, and summaries of proceedings read in Parliament are no different from March 12 and September 12.

Can Atalay is our brother, our friend, our comrade. Can Atalay is a Gezi protester. This is the essence of the fear. Because the AKP-MHP fascism is afraid of the June Resistance, they had that fabricated summary of proceedings written for Can Atalay read in parliament. We reject this. It is time to fill the squares, come side by side, and unite our honors. Freedom for Can Atalay, long live the June Resistance."