Intellectuals Demand Democratic Constitution, Call for “Boycott”

Writers, journalists, artists, academicians and activists, who have stated that they will "neither say yes, nor no" on 12 September when the constitutional amendment package will be voted, call for a "boycott."

During the press statement on July 30, Prof. Dr. Busra Ersanli read the press statement on behalf of the intellectuals.

"The government has fallen behind in meeting the society's expectations," said Ersanli. "It has not been able to take up the chance of preparing a democratic constitution and has retreated from even symbolic steps. The parliament has decided to put the 'package' to referendum through a majority vote and forced the country into an unproductive polarisation period."

Ersanli stated that the antidemocratic  essence of the constitution has not been altered with the proposed amendments and that the amendments do not touch on the basic problems.

Ersanli added that with the proposed constitutional amendments, women, labourers, Alevites, Kurds, and those, who are discriminated against based on their religious beliefs or sexual identities, have been disregarded. "Neither they exist, nor do their demands," said Ersanli about the package.

She continued as follows:

"A referendum carried out under these conditions, no matter if the outcome is a yes or a no, would only serve to legitimise the current constitution though a plebiscite. We will not vote for the status quo, which has been decorated to look better, and thus become an instrument in this deception.

"We will not play this voting game because we want a new and a democratic constitution. We will not let our voices and demands become inaudible among the 'yes' and 'no' votes. We will not go to polls."

Aydin: The spirit of the 12 September Constitution is still being kept

Writer Erdogan Aydin, who spoke following the press statement, stated that the people are forced to choose one of the two options through the referendum. "I believe that on the 30th anniversary of the  current Constitution, Turkey does not deserve the 12 September constitution or its derivatives. I believe that we deserve to get rid of the 12 September Constitution," he said.

"Despite over 30 amendments, the spirit of the constitution is still being kept," stated Aydin. "I believe we should react by not going to polls."

Kurkcu: Citizens should just walk through the voting areas

Ertugrul Kurkcu pointed out that there are some people, who believe that a boycott would strengthen the hands of supporters of a yes vote. "A yes is a yes, a no is a no, and a boycott is a boycott," said Kurkcu.

"We will continue to discuss Turkey's main problem. We will see once again on 13 September that we cannot live under a monist constitution in a multi-identity, multi-cultural, multi-religious society. We will have to enter into a new discussion on the constitution. But since on the day before (12 September) a majority of our citizens will have confirmed that we have left this discussion behind, it will take years for us to be able to voice this need again.

"Therefore, our citizens should vote with their feet for a democratic  constitution based on the sovereignty of citizens. In other words, they should just walk through the voting areas," said Kurkcu. (BT/EA)