Category: Agenda | Page 2

DEM Party: “Autistic people want justice, not mercy”

2 April 2026

Issuing a statement for April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day, the DEM Party stated that this day is a day of protest against the mentality that marginalizes and renders invisible those who are different.

Today is April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day to raise global awareness regarding individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Commission for Persons with Disabilities released a written and video statement concerning the challenges and demands of autistic people.

Please click the video above or [here] to watch the video statement.

The written statement by Hatice Betül Çelebi, Co-Spokesperson of the DEM Party Commission for Persons with Disabilities, is as follows:

From education to health, and from urban life to social policies, autistic individuals and all persons with disabilities are forced to exist within an inaccessible, fragmented, and exclusionary system. While the right to education remains only on paper and inclusivity exists in rhetoric, segregation continues in practice. Inadequate teacher employment, overcrowded classrooms, curricula that ignore individual differences, and a market-oriented service approach deepen the existing inequalities.

The mindset that defines autism as a “disorder” is itself one of the most visible forms of discrimination. This language reproduces a perspective that views non-normative traits as problems rather than differences, reducing human existence to a single type. Yet, autism is not a deficiency; it is a natural part of human neurodiversity. The problem is not autistic people or autistic behavior; it is the social, political, and institutional structures that exclude, suppress, and attempt to “normalize” them.

The required approach is the implementation of public policies based on the autonomy, uniqueness, and social participation of autistic individuals. Within this framework, universal design principles must be adopted in every field—from education systems to urban planning—and physical, digital, sensory, and communicative accessibility must be addressed as a whole.

The right to speak, decide, and formulate policies on behalf of autistic people belongs directly to them and their families. Any policy that disregards this will is destined to be incomplete, biased, incorrect, and discriminatory. Real transformation will only be possible through democratic processes where the subjects themselves have the voice and decision-making power.

For us, April 2nd is a day of protest against the mindset that marginalizes and renders the ‘different’ invisible. We advocate for communal life instead of segregated institutions, inclusivity instead of exclusion, and justice instead of mercy.

It should not be forgotten that inaccessible cities, crises, poverty, and environments of violence disproportionately affect autistic individuals and persons with disabilities. Therefore, all policies—including disaster and crisis management—must be reconstructed through a perspective that embraces neurodiversity.

Social transformation is possible not merely through physical adjustments, but through a fundamental shift in mindset. We must replace prejudices, stereotypes, and monolithic norms with acceptance, understanding, and plurality. Every individual has the right to self-expression, and communication is not limited to spoken words alone. For autistic individuals, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods are fundamental elements of equal citizenship.

Today, our call is clear: We demand rights, not charity; justice, not mercy; and acceptance, not conformity. Our differences are not a threat, but rather the wealth of humanity. The liberation of autistic people is an inseparable part of the struggle for a democratic, egalitarian, and peaceful society

Hatice Betül Çelebi
Co-Spokesperson of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities
2 April 2026

Seriously ill prisoner Mehmet Emin Çam has been released

2 April 20262 April 2026

Mehmet Ekim Çam, who was included on the Human Rights Association’s list of seriously ill prisoners, has been released from the prison.

74-year-old seriously ill prisoner Mehmet Ekim Çam has been released from the Batman Type T Closed Prison where he was being held. It was learned that Çam had been referred to the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) three days ago.

Mehmet Emin Çam was arrested on December 12, 2012, while serving as the Siirt Co-Chair of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). He was released after 10 months, but was re-arrested in 2022.

In an urgent call published on March 26, the Human Rights Association (İHD) reported that Çam had been taken to Batman Training and Research Hospital on March 25, 2026. According to the information shared by İHD, Çam has a tumor on the right side of his brain, suffers from kidney disease, and has advanced heart disease. İHD also stated that Çam had suffered two heart attacks in prison, undergone two kidney surgeries, has paralysis in his left arm and left leg, and has blockages in his five veins. Despite all these conditions, the Council of Forensic Medicine issued a report on December 3, 2025 stating that he was “OK to remain in prison,” and his requests for postponing his sentence were rejected on March 10.

İHD emphasized that this situation constitutes a violation of Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Number of ill prisoners in 2025

According to the İHD 2025 Report on Ill Prisoners, there are at least 1,412 ill prisoners in prisons across Turkey, including 161 women and 1,251 men. The report states that 335 prisoners are in serious condition.

Among them, 230 are unable to sustain their lives independently and 105 require assistance. Additionally, 188 prisoners need continuous medical monitoring due to their illnesses.

The report also highlights that ill prisoners are not taken to infirmaries in a timely manner, face months-long delays in referrals to tertiary healthcare services, and are forced to live under inadequate conditions in terms of nutrition, heating, and hygiene.

Öcalan’s message read out at Diyarbakır Newroz

21 March 202621 March 2026

Öcalan stated, “The process we initiated on 27 February 2025 aims to revive the foundations of unity in keeping with the spirit of Newroz.”

Abdullah Öcalan, whose message was read out at the Amed Newroz celebrations, said: “It is in our hands to transform this year into a year of true freedom for all the peoples of the Middle East,” Öcalan also called on people not to “allow the Middle East to be transformed into a battlefield by hegemonic powers”.

Öcalan’s message reads as follows:

“The Newroz epic has been celebrated for thousands of years by the peoples of the Middle East as a festival of resurrection, resistance, and spring. Newroz has revived the spirit of resistance and inspired the resurgence of our peoples.
The symbols and figures of Newroz reflect the spirit of this region. Dehaq is a symbol of a state-based system. The snakes on his shoulders, which devour the brains of two young men every day, embody the brutality of the Assyrian state, while Kawa the Blacksmith is the embodiment of resistance against oppression.
The religious, sectarian, and cultural wars that have been waged in the Middle East for a thousand years are the greatest blow to the culture of coexistence among its peoples. As each identity and each belief attempts to exist by retreating into its own shell and demonizing the others, the rift between our peoples grows deeper. Our shared values and culture are being disregarded, and our differences are being turned into a cause for war.
Today’s insistence on continuing outdated policies in the region has brought disaster. The divisions created by policies of repression, denial, and hostility – particularly in the Middle East – are being used as pretexts for imperial interventions.
While in Europe, three centuries of religious and sectarian wars were resolved with the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, in the Middle East, the continuation of these conflicts has caused profound tragedies for our peoples. But we can enable cultures and beliefs to coexist once again. It is within our power to transform the war and chaos that is being created in the Middle East into a spring of freedom for the people. We can reverse the tragedies that are being inflicted upon us and create an environment of freedom.
Today, the hidden pages of history are being revealed, and the possibility of peace between peoples and of democratic nation-building is increasing. As Sunni and Shia state traditions and nationalist traditions are overcome, free coexistence between peoples becomes a reality.
Today marks a new chapter. The path has been opened for the peoples of this region to live together freely.
The process we initiated on 27 February 2025 aims to revive the foundations of unity in keeping with the spirit of Newroz.
For this to happen, we need to believe that cultures and beliefs can coexist, that we can transcend narrow nationalist ideologies and unite on the basis of democratic integration, and that we can exist together. As in our history, we must realize that, today, we can overcome all forms of war, poverty, and barbarism.
The 2026 Newroz is the updating of this history in all its splendour. History is unfolding in present, providing an opportunity to reach a consciousness based on true cultural identity.
The meaning and power of Newroz are coming to the fore as a defining force of the present moment. This year’s Newroz celebrations, and those of the years to come, are of historical significance.
The 2026 Newroz is being reborn via its own roots. It is becoming present and taking a major step toward democratic integration: it is becoming Newroz itself.
As in history, Newroz is experiencing a resurgence, asserting its influence in the heart of the Middle East. It is once again playing its role throughout the region as a symbol of democratic integration. This coming into being is already happening and will continue to unfold.
Up until now, Newroz has been celebrated with symbolic values. Today, Newroz represents not a dream or a utopia, but a real, developing communal life. Newroz is the day when we realize ourselves, both mentally and physically.
On Newroz, let us cleanse ourselves of the inadequate relationships and meanings that constantly plague us, and let us embrace life through real relationships, a profound depth of meaning, a new ethics of freedom, and a new aesthetic of understanding.
Let us put the philosophy of “Jin, Jîyan, Azadî” into practice in all our relationships, and achieve a free life. Let us understand that Newroz is no longer simply a moment of hopes, dreams, or theories, but a moment of realization. Let us respond to this moment of realization with a full understanding and a profound depth of meaning.
On the occasion of Newroz, it is in our hands to transform this year into a year of true freedom for all the peoples of the Middle East, and to establish the tradition of friendship and solidarity among peoples. This can be achieved by ending ethnic and religious-sectarian divisions and fratricidal conflicts, and by ensuring the unity of all cultures and religious beliefs on the basis of freedom and brotherhood.
In response to the massive social and ecological collapse created by capitalist modernity, we have developed the solution of democratic modernity, based on democratic politics, ecological principles, and women’s liberation, all rooted in the spirit of freedom of Newroz.
Let us not allow the Middle East – a birthplace of different cultures – to be transformed into a battlefield by hegemonic powers. Today, as in the past, we can overcome, together, the obstacles that prevent this great culture from freely expressing itself and integrating on the basis of its true identity. There is no obstacle we cannot overcome if we leave behind the diseases of nationalism and sectarianism and embrace instead the millennia-old culture of solidarity among our peoples.
With such a spirit of unity, it is possible to bring about a democratic politics. If we want to crown the millennia-long struggle of the oppressed, the place to do so is not in the capitalist environment of the East or the West, but in the truly free environment of the Middle East. In these lands, we can update democratic integration through a genuine coming together and on the foundation of a new humanity, brotherhood, solidarity, and friendship.
I extend my best wishes to our people for the Eid al-Fitr, and hope that it will be an occasion for peace and brotherhood.
The 2026 Newroz is being celebrated, for the first time, by our peoples with the spirit of an ongoing process of democratic integration, as well as peace and brotherhood. I wholeheartedly embrace this spirit and the will it contains. I hope that Newroz, which this year has become truly worthy of being celebrated as a “New Day”, will pave the way for a glorious march in the years to come. I wish peace to all our peoples. I greet you all with love.
Abdullah ÖCALAN
Imralı Prison