“This decision is an open attack on public will and local democracy,” declared Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, during the party’s weekly parliamentary group meeting in Ankara on Tuesday. Hatimoğulları criticised the six-year prison sentence recently handed to Sofya Alağaş, co-mayor of Siirt, as a direct blow to democratic principles in Turkey.
Hatimoğulları argued that the judiciary’s decision was part of a broader strategy to suppress local administrations and undermine opposition voices. “If they think such operational moves, detentions, and arrests will make us retreat, this government and judicial system are gravely mistaken,” she added, highlighting what she described as increasing political oppression.
The DEM Party co-chair also turned her attention to last week’s fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu’s Kartalkaya, where 78 people perished. Hatimoğulları condemned the government for its failure to ensure safety standards, citing negligence and unchecked greed as key factors in the disaster. “This tragedy reflects a country where lives are devalued, where reckless profit-seeking leads to unchecked disasters,” she said.
Hatimoğulları alleged that the hotel’s owner received state incentives but failed to invest in fire prevention systems. “The centralised governance model, unqualified appointments, and profit-driven mindset have hollowed out public institutions. The government even handed over building inspections to private companies, allowing contractors to monitor themselves,” she said. She linked this mismanagement to the devastating February 2023 earthquakes, stating, “We experienced this with unbearable pain during the 6 February earthquake—contractors setting their own rules.”
Related articles:
Turkish government failed to address earthquake victims’ plight: report a year on
Flashback 2023 | Crackdown on journalists: Turkey
Pointing to the government’s track record, Hatimoğulları claimed that 24 major disasters have occurred during the 22-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), resulting in over 100,000 deaths. She accused officials of avoiding accountability, calling for immediate resignations, including Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism.
Hatimoğulları also criticised ongoing investigations against opposition figures, including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, calling such actions undemocratic. “Silencing potential rivals through the judiciary is a clear violation of democracy,” she said, warning of a broader climate of political oppression.
She further denounced a recent police operation targeting members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), with 34 activists arrested. “These acts amount to political extermination,” she stated, reaffirming the DEM Party’s commitment to democratic struggle.
Related articles:
Socialists, trade unionists, plus an MP jailed after raids target Socialist Party
Massive detentions targeting Socialist Party of the Oppressed in Turkey
