16 July, 2016On 15 July, Turkey again faced a military coup d’état like several times in the last decades, as the country’s armed forces attempted to overthrow the government with violence and bloodshed as a result.“IndustriALL Global Union strongly condemns this attempted coup and calls for a swift return to Turkey's constitutional order,” says assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan.
In the evening of 15 July, the Turkish Prime Minister announced an attempted coup led by a group of army members controlling different military bases, including the headquarters of general staff in Ankara, some public institutions and media buildings.
Gunfire broke out in several places and the Turkish Parliament was bombed. Recent reports talk about at least 160 dead and 1,500 wounded. In addition, nearly 3,000 soldiers have been arrested.
People took to the streets and gathered in city centers, airports and around military bases demonstrating against coup. All political parties have come together to denounce the attempt in favour of democracy and democratic institutions.
Özkan says:
“Over the last five, six years, democracy and political infrastructure in Turkey has been weakened. Basic human rights like freedom of opinion, of speech, of assembly, of association, and of press have all but disappeared. Good governance has been replaced by arbitrary applications.”
“IndustriALL Global Unions demands full democracy in Turkey according to international norms and standards. Oppressions and restrictions on labour
rights must immediately be lifted.”
“Our global union stands in full solidarity with our Turkish affiliates, the whole Turkish union movement and the Turkish people. Our struggle for democracy continues.”