Multiparty “Peace and Democratic Society Commission” convenes for first time in Turkish parliament

ANKARA — The much-anticipated multiparty parliamentary Commission for Peace and Democratic Society met for the first time today. The Commission is tasked with paving the way for a democratic and inclusive constitution that grants rights to all  cultures, languages, and peoples—Kurds, Alevi, Armenians, Syriacs (Arameans-Assyrians-Chaldeans), Greeks—which are part of Turkey’s rich mosaic of peoples, yet whose rights have been denied for decades.  

The Commission, which largely consists of the parties’ legal experts, is expected to engage in an open dialogue, followed by legislative recommendations for Parliament. 

The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, DEM Party) called this first meeting of the commission ” a significant step in the people’s decades-long struggle for justice, equality, democracy, and peace.” It stressed that the Commission’s work must proceed based on the will to come to a democratic solution and on a foundation of negotiation and dialogue. “The demand for peace is the shared will of the people. We are determined to contribute at every level to strengthen this will.” 

Representative for DEM Party are the party’s Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Gülüstan Kiliç Koçyi̇ği̇t, and MP’s Meral Danış Beştaş, Hakkı Saruhan Oluç, and Cengiz Çiçek. Syriac Member of Parliament for Merde (Mardin) George Aryo (Turkish name: Aslan) has not been selected by his DEM Party to take a seat on the commission, leaving the Christians of Turkey without direct representation on the Peace and Democratic Society Commission. 

However, within the DEM Party’s own committees and dialogue session, Aryo and the Federation of Syriac Associations in Turkey (Süryani Dernekler Federasyonu, SÜDEF)—one of the founders of the DEM Party’s predecessors— will have a place at the table.