 |
Roma groups voice support for reform package
Representatives from five Roma foundations in the western province of Bursa gathered in the Bayrak district yesterday to announce that they will vote “yes” in the referendum “for the end of military tutelage in Turkey.”
The head of one such foundation, Efkan Özçimen, said they will vote yes for the future of Turkey so that their children can live in a safer state.
Noting that every “yes” vote that will be cast for the reform package will place women, children, the disabled and veterans in a more advantageous position, Özçimen stressed: “We say yes to the prevention of child abuse. We say yes to blacklisting becoming history. We say yes to the trial of the perpetrators of the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup. We believe that a new process will begin in Turkey with the referendum. As Roma people, we give importance to the referendum.”
A group of Roma known as the Karaçadır Aşireti Gırnata musicians from Konya’s Beyşehir district also announced that they will vote in favor of constitutional amendments.
Members from the Culture and Dialogue Foundation of Taurus Nomads (TOYÖKÜD) are visiting nomadic people living in the Taurus Mountains in order to urge them to vote “yes” on the proposed reforms.
TOYÖKÜD President Ömer Gürler and Secretary-General Mücahit Gündoğdu, a lawyer by profession, visited the Karaçadır Aşireti Gırnata musicians, a total of 20 families, to inform them of the content of the reform package.
The musicians of the Karaçadır tribe welcomed TOYÖKÜD administrators by playing tambourines and drums. The leader of the Karaçadır tribe, Mustafa Yaman, said: “As Gırnata musicians, we love Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan very much. We make a living by playing music at weddings -- six months in Antalya and six months in Konya. Since the prime minister cares about the problems of the Roma, we will vote ‘yes’ in the referendum. We will vote ‘yes’ to the reforms so that our children can receive an education in better circumstances.”
Gündoğdu said they will be visiting 10 villages in the Taurus Mountains before Sept. 12 and informing villagers about the reform package, adding that these people currently do not have much information about the content of the package.
“When we’ve held discussions with villagers about the reform package during talks at coffee houses, they’ve admitted that they don’t know much about the reforms,” added Gündoğdu.
He also noted that TOYÖKÜD views the referendum as being above political parties. “When we examine the 26-article package, we can see that the amendments are all for the benefit of the nation. By visiting the villages, we can prevent people from being misinformed about the reforms,” Gündoğdu said.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BÜLENT KENEŞ |  |
||
| What befell Niyazi-i Misri in the past is happening to Fethullah Gülen now | |||
| EKREM DUMANLI |  |
||
| When a call for fairness and reason finds acceptance | |||
| ŞAHİN ALPAY |  |
||
| Uludere, test case for democracy in Turkey | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Are the Kurds mentally divorced from Turkey? | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK |  |
||
| Erdoğan, Gül and Davutoğlu: the inner bargain on Turkish foreign policy | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| Taking lessons from previous experiences with the military | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| Qualm | |||
| ÖMER TAŞPINAR |  |
||
| A new phase in Syria? | |||
| İHSAN DAĞI |  |
||
| Turkish foreign policy: Time for a re-evaluation | |||
| SEYFETTİN GÜRSEL |  |
||
| Poor-friendly economic growth and the AK Party | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| Missing women, missing opportunities | |||
| BERK ÇEKTİR |  |
||
| Changes to incentives for investment in Turkey | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| The 1960 coup: a final test for democracy | |||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
