DEM did not celebrate Republic Day, said 'We must confront it'

Today, the 102nd anniversary of the founding of our Republic is being celebrated with enthusiasm by citizens all across the country.

An article that is expected to draw reaction regarding the 102nd anniversary of the Republic has come from the DEM Party front, which has formed an alliance with the AKP and MHP in the new resolution process called a 'Terror-Free Turkey'.

DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan did not celebrate Republic Day in his article titled 'On the 102nd anniversary of the Republic: How will we live together?' published in T24.

In his article, Bakırhan included the phrase, 'We must confront our false assumptions about the Republic.'

Click here for the full text of Bakırhan's article

NO CELEBRATION IN THE PARTY ASSEMBLY DECLARATION EITHER

On the other hand, no celebration message was included in the final declaration published after the DEM Party Party Assembly (PM) meeting.

The declaration published after the PM meeting is as follows:

The final declaration of our Party Assembly (PM) meeting held in Ankara on October 27, 2025:

Our Party Assembly held its regular meeting in Ankara on October 27, 2025. During the meeting, the political agenda, our organizational situation, the work of our Parliamentary Group, and especially our preparations for the 2026 budget negotiations, which will begin in the coming days, were discussed in detail. On this basis;

1. The Peace and Democratic Society Process, which has been the country's main agenda for over a year, was evaluated, and the duties and responsibilities falling upon our party to achieve the main goal of the process were re-examined. As is known, the PKK, which dissolved itself with its 12th Congress, announced on October 26, 2025, that it had decided to withdraw all its armed forces within the borders of Turkey. This development should be evaluated as an important turning point in terms of democracy, law, and the social peace process; the necessary legal and political steps must be implemented as soon as possible. The will of our peoples to end the years of suffering, losses, and destruction is clear. This step must be supported with sincerity so that politics, not violence, and democratic solutions, not war, come to the fore. Because peace becomes permanent not only with the silencing of weapons, but with the recognition of equal citizenship and democratic rights. In their statement on October 27, our Co-Chairs conveyed our party's views on both the general process and the latest step taken by the Kurdish movement, namely the decision to withdraw armed forces. We are determined to take every responsibility that falls upon us today, as we did yesterday, so that the Peace and Democratic Society Process is not disrupted and that peace and equality take root in these lands. The construction of peace and a democratic society will pave the way for living together equally and freely for everyone living in these lands. The future of this country will be determined by the common will of the people, not by the shadow of weapons.

2. Turkey is once again facing unlawful practices, injustice, and oppression directed by the government. The operations carried out against the CHP in recent days are not just an attack on one party, but an open attack on the entire democratic opposition and the will of the people. This time, the government has resorted to 'espionage' accusations in the operations it conducts against the opposition through the judiciary. Developments that led to the appointment of trustees to media outlets have also been encountered. It is obvious that the accusations directed at TELE1 and journalist Merdan Yanardağ are baseless and intended to suppress the media. We condemn the pressures on the press and the trustee practices in the strongest terms. Democracy forces will not remain silent in the face of these practices. We will grow our solidarity with our belief in ethical values and democracy and our determination to struggle.

3. The budget process, in which the 2026 budget will be discussed and decided, has begun. It is known that budgets are the most important political documents for political governments. Because budget designs show the preferences of political governments in their clearest form. The principles by which countries' revenue sources and the distribution of these resources are made; whether they are fair, transparent, and egalitarian can be seen by looking at the budgets. The political preference of the AKP government is clearly seen in the 2026 budget design. We do not accept this budget, which collects from the poor and distributes to the rich. We are facing a draft budget that contains no features that could secure the future of laborers, women, and youth. This budget prioritizes war, arms spending, and capital; is based on intense labor exploitation and precariousness; puts expenditures that feed male dominance, abuse of faith, and understandings that instrumentalize religion for politics in the first place; and serves a plunder policy that could lead to the destruction of nature. There is no labor, no peace, and no equality in this budget. This budget is a budget of 'haves' for capital and 'have-nots' for laborers. Our Party Assembly is determined to grow the struggle for a populist and egalitarian budget demand under the title 'BREAD-PEACE' in November and December. It has decided to implement an action program with the agendas of minimum wage, retirees, deepening poverty, and peace; to carry out a five-pronged march to Ankara with these agendas; and to be in the squares with the people's demands against the 2026 budget proposed by the government, together with all democracy and labor forces. We call on all segments that want a peace economy and a people's budget to create a united and strong opposition against this capital system that creates an impoverished country and a deprived society, to grow the struggle, and to cooperate.

4. The regulations discussed in the public opinion with various information under the name of the '11th Judicial Package' are not tools of justice, but of control, denial, and oppression. It is an attempt to legalize discrimination. The need of the period is to change laws that are contrary to equality and antidemocratic. The need in the legal system is not to make more restrictive changes through sentence aggravation, but to make comprehensive and libertarian legal regulations. While the society's need for justice and democracy stands as a very fundamental demand, it is seen that there is not a single article in the judicial package that will meet these demands. On the contrary, this draft package is a preparation for an approach that will further deepen antidemocratic practices and pave the way for hate crimes. Every citizen, regardless of their culture, language, belief, gender identity, or sexual orientation, deserves equal rights and a dignified life. Respecting this is a prerequisite for a democratic society. As the DEM Party, we are determined to be in the fields and grow our struggle partnership to further raise the society's struggle for equality, freedom, justice, and peace against this judicial package, which we see as an attack on our belief in living together with all our differences.

We are not hopeless. Because the organized power of the people is greater than any kind of oppression. Because the honorable people of this country are struggling tirelessly for equality, freedom, and peace.

News Source: 12punto