Özgür Özel supports martyrs' families and veterans on hunger strike: 'We are with you until your rights are given'

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel visited a protest camp in Ankara's Güvenpark, where families of fallen soldiers and disabled veterans are on a hunger strike. The demonstrators are demanding equal rights and benefits, protesting the disparities in pay, healthcare, and prosthetics between conscripted soldiers and commissioned officers.

"We are with you until your rights are given, until everyone says 'I am satisfied with these arrangements,'" Özel declared, vowing his party's unwavering support for the protesters' cause. He noted that the protest, which began as a sit-in on July 13, escalated to a hunger strike on August 4 due to unmet demands.

Özel highlighted that the CHP has been actively engaged with various veterans' and martyrs' families' associations across Turkey. He mentioned a proposal drafted by the party, which he co-signed with other CHP lawmakers and later with the İYİ Party, that addresses 19 specific demands requiring amendments to 18 laws. This proposal, he stated, would resolve the issues if enacted.

The protesters seek to eliminate the perceived injustice where lower-ranking soldiers and their families receive fewer benefits than their higher-ranking counterparts. Their protest aims to bring attention to these systemic inequalities and compel the government to address them through legislative changes.

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We are with you until your rights are given, until everyone says 'I am satisfied with these arrangements.'