Turkey's pro-Kurdish HDP to form Alternative Science Commission against coronavirus

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Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) will establish a Science Commission against the coronavirus pandemic that would be an alternative to the Health Ministry's commission, HDP co-chair Mithat Sancar said on March 30.

Following the party's Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting, Sancar said that the commission will include scientists from all related science branches.

The Health Ministry has a Science Commission that convenes regularly to discuss measures to adopt against the pandemic.

Sancar said that a "National Crisis Coordination Crisis Center" must be formed on the issue, adding that the HDP, on its part, will establish the committee to convey reliable information to the public.

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"The society needs reliable information above all else. A center that puts the people's security at its core must be formed. The most urgent need is to protect the society," Sancar said.

"All public resources must be transferred to this area. Parliament should change its agenda to adopt laws on this and resume its work," he added.

Sancar also criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for trying to manage the pandemic with daily precautions.

"The government didn't seem to be taking the issue seriously in the beginning. It didn't present any signs that would lead us to say that it was prepared. It tried to manage the issue on a daily basis. It didn't adopt measures as necessitated by the danger or adopted them too late. Hence, the outbreak spread quickly," Sancar said.

The co-chair noted using mother language in the Kurdish-majority areas creates a big difference.

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"We saw how the people who didn't trust the government's warnings listened when they were addressed in their mother tongues," Sancar said.

Workers stage protest in front of municipality

Elsewhere, a total of 307 municipal workers who were deemed "unsuccessful" by the government-appointed trustee carried out a protest in front of the municipality building in the eastern province of Van on March 30.

The subcontracted workers, who were interviewed three times to be on the permanent staff before the trustee told them that they were "unsuccessful," gave their objection petition to the municipality in groups of two to three after police forbid them from submitting it collectively.

"Our rights are being taken away from us for two years. We can't find someone to convey our problems," Zafer Uyar, one of the workers, said on behalf of the workers, Mesopotamia News Agency reported, as he urged people to support their struggle.