The first rally of the Labour and Freedom Alliance witnessed great enthusiasm. Thousands of people filled the square and in the speeches it was said "We will change this country by uniting".
The Labour and Freedom Alliance, formed by the Labour Movement Party (EHP), Labour Party (EMEP), Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Federation of Socialist Assemblies (SMF), Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) and Social Freedom Party (TÖP), held its first rally with the slogan "Let's stop war, poverty and oppression. Let's change together" in Kartal Square.
Thousands of people flocked to Kartal Square from many districts of Istanbul and filled the square from the early hours of the morning. An enthusiastic atmosphere prevailed in the square hours before.
Before the rally, political parties marched in a cortege to Kartal Square. Warehouse workers also marched in the EMEP cortege.
HDP Co-Chairs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, EMEP Chair Ercüment Akdeniz, TİP Chair Erkan Baş and TİP MPs Ahmet Şık, Barış Atay, Sera Kadıgil, EHP Chair Hakan Öztürk, TÖP Spokesperson Board Members Perihan Koca, Pelin Kahiloğulları, Juliana Gözen, SMF Spokespersons Barış Kayaoğlu and Dilşad Canbaz and party members took part in the cortege.
During the rally, the names of those who lost their lives during the Gezi Resistance and the names of Gezi prisoners were read out. Citizens participating in the rally expressed their support for Gezi prisoners with applause and slogans.
Former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been imprisoned in Edirne Prison since 2016, sent a message to the rally on social media. The song "We are Labourers", the lyrics and music of which were written by Selahattin Demirtaş, was also performed at the rally.
Juliana Gözen, spokesperson of the Social Freedom Party (TÖP), said in her speech: "You are not without a choice, we are here! The alliance is here, we will send this government away." Gözen said, "No one will forget this history. This is the date when the Kurdish and Turkish people created their own choice and we promise, brothers and sisters, we will send those who dragged the country into the swamp. Those who fight for labour and freedom, welcome! Some people are afraid that the days of judgement will come, let them be afraid. We will take back the lives they stole from us. The word is out, the ranks are clear. We will send this government, which has sunk to the bottom of the swamp," he said.
Hakan Öztürk, chairman of the Labourers' Movement Party (EHP), said in his speech: "We will defeat you AKP, we will send you away AKP! We are united". Öztürk said, "We said 'There is a Kurdish issue in this country, come and solve it', what did they do? They appointed trustees in Van, Diyarbakır, Şırnak! We said, 'Is there such freedom? There is a Kurdish issue, solve it, what did they do? They put Selahattin Demirtaş between four walls! They said, 'We will cross the Syrian and Iraqi borders', they said, 'We will cross these borders suddenly one night'. We say that there is hunger in this country, O AKP, O Erdoğan! Come and prevent this hunger, stop the wars, make peace with the Kurdish people. The last laugh is a good laugh. No one can defeat a united organised people. We will defeat you AKP, we will send you away AKP. We are united! We will send you away with all our strength."
Labour Party (EMEP) Chair Ercüment Akdeniz said in his speech: "In this country, the votes of workers, labourers, youth, women, Kurdish people, Alevis who want equal citizenship are not a piece of cake. You will know this too. If you continue with your denialist, ignoring attitude, the Labour and Freedom Alliance will bring out its own candidate. It will take it out of these squares together with the people," he said. "There is a wave coming from the bottom here. Listen to this wave." Akdeniz said, "Workers did not listen to the strike ban in Bekaert. They did not listen to Erdoğan's decrees. They made a de facto strike and won. EYT people fought for a long time and won. Women fought for one free meal for children and won the right to one free meal in kindergarten class dormitories. Port workers are among us. Shipyard workers are among us. Workers are coming in waves. Here we come, winning by winning. We are coming united. We are coming with joy, hope and enthusiasm. We will overcome all obstacles, all barriers and our children will live in a free and happy country where their bellies are full."
HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan said, "This is just the beginning. 82 million people will feel this air, this wind. İstanbul will prove itself once again in the elections. No one should have any worries and doubts about this. We have a success story that started on 7 June. We will leave our mark on the elections together with our alliance and our friends." "The elections to be held will be a choice between light and darkness," Buldan said, "These elections will be an election in which we will determine our own president. We will work, we will win, we will succeed, with Kurds, Alevis, Sunnis, Armenians, Sunnis and Armenians, without saying evening or night."
HDP Co-Chair Mithat Sancar stated that their alliance continues to grow. Noting that the people united around the Labour and Freedom Alliance will put an end to the war games of the government, Sancar said, "This alliance is coming for a democratic republic. We are coming, we are coming to change. We are coming to establish peace against war, truth against lies. We will win, we will definitely win. This power will carry this country to democracy and peace, to a future full of labour and freedom."
Socialist Assemblies Federation (SMF) Spokesperson Barış Kayaoğlu also said, "We know that the wealth they have is what they stole from us, what they stole from workers and labourers. We will stop this robbery order, this wheel of oppression. We can live in a fairer world. The Alliance of Labour and Freedom is the best example of this. More importantly, we no longer have to choose between the parties of capital. We can overcome all our problems. We will walk this path together, we will succeed together." (İstanbul/EVRENSEL)
Ceren Sözeri
Yusuf Karadaş
Aras Coşkuntuncel