The forums organised to establish a joint line against the palace regime are continuing. Following on from the ‘Side by Side Forum’ held in Ankara last week, the second such event took place at the Ses Theatre in Beyoğlu, Istanbul.

Organised upon the call of the country's progressive, democratic, and revolutionary elements, the forum was attended by numerous academics, artists, journalists, trade union representatives, and broad segments of the social opposition.

The gathering began with an opening speech by Çiçek Çatalkaya emphasising joint struggle. Imprisoned journalist Merdan Yanardağ made an emphasis on "united struggle" in a letter he sent to the gathering. The Istanbul Branch Chair of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers (MMO), Ezgi Kılıç, expressed that the current situation is "not a simple system change, but a regime change attempt". Poet Haydar Ergülen, on the other hand, used the expressions, "Standing side by side means slamming the masters' demand for a monarchy into their faces with our compassionate hands."

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik, BirGün Newspaper Board Chairman İbrahim Aydın, economist Prof. Dr. Hayri Kozanoğlu, Labour Economics Expert Prof. Dr. Aziz Çelik, MMO Istanbul Branch Chair Ezgi Kılıç, former Board Chair of the Chamber of Architects Eyüp Muhcu, theatre actor Ayşegül Yalçıner, labour struggle history expert, researcher and author Zafer Aydın, journalist Zafer Arapkirli, Prof. Dr. Serkan Öngel, political scientist Suat Özçelebi, and General President of the United Metalworkers' Union Özkan Atar were among the participants in the hall.

Making an emphasis on joint struggle in her opening speech, Çatalkaya said: "We have come side by side to take one of the first steps of a joint march. Some of us come from workers' struggle for rights; some from the struggle for life, and some from resistances defending their nature… We carry out struggles in various different fields, from the struggle for scientific and secular education to an independent, free academy. But we now know that none of us will be able to win alone. Unless we come side by side, we will not be able to rid ourselves of the tyrannical government. They are trying to drag the entire country into darkness as a whole. That is why we are together."

In the speeches delivered at the forum, the following were expressed in brief:

THE REGIME HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED

MMO Istanbul Branch Chair Ezgi Kılıç: "Welcome to all our friends who, while our country goes through the darkest days of its history, have not lost hope for even a single day, listened to the call for a united struggle, and came side by side here today. At a tipping point in history, we are together as youth and workers. The process our country is going through is not a simple system change, but a regime transformation. What we face is a one-man regime that surrenders all institutions to a single person. This regime has rendered labour precarious and taken away women's rights. While cities are rendered unlivable with rent-oriented projects, ecological destruction has deepened. Housing has been turned into a matter of rent, and rent increases have deepened the housing crisis, leaving millions of citizens face to face with precarity."

Poet Haydar Ergülen: "Standing side by side is like saying 'as the carnation goes from hand to hand...' as in Edip Cansever's poem. Standing side by side means saying 'we are incomplete without you'. It means the search for rights, law, and justice. Standing side by side means being friends. It means that those who turn pain into honey also make hope abundant. It means rising to one's feet with joy. It means being young at every age, and youth never passing. It means slamming the masters' demand for a monarchy into their faces with our compassionate hands. It means not deviating from secularism, not holding back. Standing side by side means standing side by side with those at the very bottom. It means many voices against the one-man regime. Standing side by side means working for enlightenment. It means not losing our innocence; it means joy."

Theatre actor Ayşegül Yalçıner: "I would like to act a play for you right now. We do political theatre. In spite of everything, stubbornly. It is hard, yes, why can't I act a play here? Because stage rents are very high. I can play two or three plays a month, and as a person who has lived by doing theatre for 27 years, I struggle financially very much. Money is decreasing among our audience; while wondering whether to buy meat or chicken, theatre does not come to mind. There is no room to breathe for many people. My retired mother suffers from the same plight. Who made us this poor? The AKP. Now how will we get out of this vice? How will we reach enlightenment? We need to act together, don't we? Poverty is increasing, we cannot stop femicides. We feel trapped. By the way, are there any extras among us? I was going to ask where we get the 950 liras from... Now don't we deserve to live in an enlightened country? We need to explain to the public that another life is possible. We all deserve to live better. If we are here, we must do something. There is no other Turkey. We need to claim our country."

WE ARE STANDING SIDE BY SIDE

Economist Prof. Dr. Hayri Kozanoğlu: "I think the expression 'standing side by side' is not an empty one, because in line with our understanding of equality, we neither follow anyone nor stand in front of anyone. We all demonstrate the determination to stand side by side as equal citizens. We now need to struggle together. We must close ranks and express our determination against our opponent more strongly. If we cannot come side by side, we will face an even more religion-based, Ottomanist regime tomorrow, as with any anti-democratic regime. Togetherness and standing side by side are not limited to elections and ballot boxes alone. Those who show the determination to stand side by side in every field starting from today will react even when there is an injustice in the neighbourhood, in the street, or at the market, and will not hesitate to be by their side. It is also difficult for people who do not possess their economic rights and lack the cash flow to maintain their standard of living to participate in democratic struggles. But similarly, without democratic freedoms and without our right to expression, it is also not possible for our economic demands to be met. Therefore, we must wage a resolute struggle without separating them from one another."

Political Communicator Suat Özçelebi: "I believe coming together is very important and imperative. After 2017, the regime changed in Turkey. Those who failed to understand that the regime had changed after 2017 acted for a very long time as if we were living in a constitutional state. But the point we have reached now is that the main opposition party was designed and the party split. There is a new party now. It has metamorphosed in a way that could create a powerful main opposition once again. I believe it must explain to society that the real problem is a regime, and that the reason someone searches for the cheapest option when going to the market is the regime; this must be at its core. Coming side by side is not enough; action is essential."

Student Ayça Alyanak: "I have one difference from everyone who has spoken so far. I have not been able to experience even a single day in a country where this oppressive regime does not exist. As a university student, I came to carry this resistance. My childhood was stolen, my youth was put into debt, and my future has been sacrificed to the prosperity of the Palace regime. We are trying to exist in the streets; we put forward our will. We are young people who feel the necessity of establishing a different country, not going to a different country."

THE PEOPLE MUST BECOME THE SUBJECT AGAIN

Yaşar Aydın, Publishing Coordinator at BirGün Newspaper: “We have been resisting for 25 years; we have resisted everywhere, every single time. Women have been at the forefront everywhere. The fact that we are here in this hall and can still speak of hope is the result of our 25 years of resistance. But we can see that this resistance is no longer enough. The AKP regime has entered a new phase by entering into cooperation with Trump and NATO. We have reached a crossroads – perhaps a crossroads that will define the next 10 years… Resisting in individual sectors and areas on our own is no longer enough; we must bring these struggles together. The tasks ahead are clear: we must unite these struggles. No single party can achieve this on its own. It is an organised resistance that must carry this out. We are talking about a structure that has taken over the state in every respect, infiltrating it through religious communities and sects.

This coming together has two implications: to halt the regime and to continue the struggle to ensure this regime can never return to power. The structures we call ‘parties’ have been shut down one by one; they have been reduced to mere buildings. The people are absent. The fundamental aim of our coming together is to make the people the subject of politics once more. This united struggle is essential to reclaiming ownership of the country’s future. In Turkey, change has become such a tidal wave that it is sweeping everything in its path.

What we must do is very clear: there are great uprisings and great lessons to be learnt on Anatolian soil. What we must do is very clear; it is to re-establish a politics in which the people are once again the protagonists. Perhaps those we face are very large, very powerful; the judiciary is in their hands, imperialism stands behind them… But the people’s experience and the revolutionaries will thwart every kind of imperialist manoeuvre. The protest is very strong; the resistance is very strong. On the morning of 19 March, whilst the whole of Turkey was gripped by despair, young people became a beacon of hope by breaching the police barricades. Anatolia, with its history of rebellion stretching back thousands of years, will not bow down.

From this moment onwards, this is what we shall do: we shall make life unbearable for those who have made our lives unbearable. This country promises a future where goodness and beauty shall prevail. Let us rebuild this republic. Let us build a more equal and democratic republic. We owe this to those who came before us and to those who will come after us.”

Journalist Timur Soykan: "Today, I am proud of my colleague Ebru Çelik. Today, she demonstrated how important insistence in journalism is. I am proud of my newspaper, BirGün. Now they say they want to build a monarchy, they want to build a palace regime. Up until today, we have seen the end of those who stood against the people. Facing us is the Palace, a small minority. We must come side by side against those who stay in power through plots. We must do this for our children."

Former Chair of the Chamber of Civil Engineers Istanbul Branch Özer Or: "Coming here, I asked who is coming side by side, who will come side by side. Then I realised that we have already been side by side for years. Perhaps we should look for ways to organize to make this more coordinated. Dear friends, I am a civil engineer, I have been struggling for 25 years. During this time, we met at the same table with different people. Looking back, only one truth remains: we must come together not with our similarities, but with our differences."

Union of Turkish Bar Associations Board Member Kemal Aytaç: "Everything was mentioned. Law, meaning everyone expects something, but everyone expects it from someone else. But it doesn't work individually; we can't cope. The state is facing us with all its organisation. We need to be resilient and faithful against this power we will fight. Indeed, in social psychology, fear is contagious, but so is courage. Every step we take will also encourage society. We need to find new methods and new tools in this struggle. They want us to be afraid; then we will not be afraid, we will frighten them. That is why we must come side by side and struggle."

WE MUST ACT TOGETHER

At the event, a message from journalist and author Merdan Yanardağ, who is detained in Silivri Prison (Silivri Cezaevi), was read. In his message, where Yanardağ emphasised a united struggle, the following expressions were included: “First of all, I greet all our friends with love and respect from Silivri who have come side by side to form a united opposition movement and to establish a line of resistance and struggle in our country, which is sought to be dragged into an Islamist-fascist dictatorship. The government, having exhausted its political and historical life span and lost its capacity to produce new social consent, can find no other way or method than using the state's apparatuses of violence to liquidate the opposition. The government is conducting a reckless attack to prolong its life and make regime change permanent. It appears ready to risk everything to not give up power and to complete the regime change process.

This picture points to an imminent and grave threat. Therefore, against this attack, against the attempt to suppress the social opposition carried out with all the power and apparatuses of violence of the new state, it is an absolute necessity to bring together all the democratic, progressive, left-wing/socialist, republican, and populist forces of the country and form a common line of struggle."

Following Yanardağ's message, the participants stood up and sent greetings to Yanardağ, Deniz Göktaş, and other detainees.

ÖZGÜR ÇELİK: THE ATTACK IS AGAINST THE ENTIRE OPPOSITION

CHP's last elected Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik stated in his speech that today a common attack is directed by the government against the entire opposition. Stating that they stand by journalist Ebru Çelik, who exposed the extra scandal of the CHP under absolute nullity management, Çelik also thanked BirGün. The highlights from Çelik's speech are as follows:

"Unfortunately, I am no longer a CHP member; I was expelled. But we are setting out on a new path. I do not have a duty yet; I am among you as an ordinary citizen. I owe a big thank you to everyone in the hall. It has been about two years; we have been experiencing a process from Esenyurt to Beşiktaş, from the provincial building raid to the headquarters raid, and we said that the issue is not a political party issue. And we held around 60 rallies in Istanbul. There, representatives of all political parties, professional organisations, trade unions, young people, and women coming through the barricades exhibited a great struggle side by side.

The attack is against the entire opposition anyway. Now the issue has turned to the corporate identity of the party. Our elected district chair was most recently imprisoned. Although the attack seems mostly directed at the first party, a tyrannical government is applying a great policy of oppression and intimidation to everyone who raises their voice in the entire social opposition. Since the attack is against the entire opposition, exhibiting resistance side by side is quite important.

This very meeting taking place in Istanbul is crucial. I sincerely thank all the people who contributed, beyond our political identities, as a citizen. It should not remain here. In later stages, it is quite important both to spread this will to stand side by side in society and to stand side by side. By uniting, we will send this tyrannical government away all together. We are very hopeful, very determined, very resilient."

WE WILL NEVER TAKE EVEN A SINGLE STEP BACK

Student Çınar Aydın: "Every area we are in has actually reached a point where it has become small parts of this regime. Namely; the state continues to etch itself into every part of life, along with universities, high schools, schools, and this new family model they are trying to create. While all this is happening, young people are rediscovering their own spaces. They have to rediscover them. Because as my friend Ayça also mentioned, this youth, this generation was virtually born into the Palace regime. And their alternatives were destroyed at one point; they were tried to be made to believe that they had no other alternatives. It was during these discoveries, on the path of these discoveries, that most young people sprouted and cultivated their hopes anew. However, a portion, a part of these young people, were swept away among these struggle areas and agendas, stepped aside, fell into despair, moved towards losing their hope, and stepped aside at one point. Here is a brief answer, and at the same time a partial answer, as to why we are together, why we need to come side by side. As everyone in Turkey mentioned, this oppressive regime is not existing for the first time, is not being breasted for the first time, is not being resisted for the first time. By coming side by side in this manner, with the lessons we will draw, with the lessons we will take from our unity, we can dispel this oppressive regime for one last time. We are on the edge of the cliff. We have no space left to take another step back. In fact, taking a step back is now a luxury! That is why we are expanding the struggle side by side."

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Parçalı değil ortak mücadele, published in BirGün newspaper on July 27, 2026.