6th sPAT-GNAT Meetings

We have held the 6th Ankara Meetings we organize annually as the sPAT.

Politics has to bring its collaboration with the civil society “from words to action” at once. We expect politics and the GNAT to apply our concrete demands without any delay.

The Porters and the Kitchem team of the small Provincial Assemblies of Turkey gather in Ankara on April 23 of each year.

Even though April 23 is celebrated as “Children’s Day,” it is also the anniversary of the establishment of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Therefore, we have also celebrated the 96th anniversary of the GNAT, as the institution of national sovereignty.

In its annual meetings, the sPAT both evaluates the work of last year and visits its “elderly,” the GNAT.

The first day of the meeting, which lasted for two days, has started with local shares of Porters coming from provinces and their general evaluations.Porters have shared the situation of small Provincial Assemblies, their deficiencies, issues and experiences in their own provinces with other province Porters and listened to the others.

In the hours of afternoon, the visit of sPAT to the GNAT has started.

The first address of the meetings has been the Justice and Development Party (AKP) group. After exchanging greetings with AKP Group Deputy Chairman Naci Bostancı, the second meeting address has been the Republican People’s Party (CHP) group. We have met with CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and CHP Group Deputy Chairman Özgür Özel. The third address of the visit has been the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) group. HDP Group Deputy Chairman Çağlar Demirel and Iğdır MP Mehmet Emin Adıyaman have greeted the sPAT board. The last address of the visit to GNAT has been the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) group. After exchanging greetings with MHP Group Deputy Chairman Erkan Akçay, the visit has ended with a short tour at the GNAT.

Then we shook hands… And spoke. 

A summary presentation has been made for each four political party on the small Provincial Assemblies of Turkey. These points have been underlined in all four meetings:

• No matter the party, the result is the same. The politics is not pleased with being in dialogue with the civil society.
• Everyone is speaking in their own clubs, without approaching to a dialogue with different perspectives.
• As polarization is encouraged from above, the below also gets disrupted and the society is divided.
• If the sPAT is still able to continue its existence under these conditions, it is because of the sense of reason the society still has.
• If you really want to have a dialogue with the civil society, you must make the decision in the authorized councils and announce it.
• We have determined the 10 demands of civil society from the politics and the GNAT with a series of workships in September 2015.

Besides these common opinions presented to all four parties, the Porters have shared short information on their relations with the party organizations and MPs in their provinces.

The political party representatives have indicated that they have taken records of the information, and that they will be in collaboration and dialogue for the resolution of issues.

Following all four greeting visits, sPAT badges have been pinned to political party representatives by the Porters.

Our dream is a common future.

On the second day of the meeting, neighbors of the sPAT family have been guests of the meeting as well. While the Secretariat of Checks and Balances Network has explained the details and visions of their ongoing project, “mecliste.org,” Cumhuriyet Newspaper Ankara News Director Ayşe Sayın has shared her experience in political journalism with the participants.

With the last session of the meeting, the sPAT Porters and Kitchen are already on their way with their annual strategical goals emerged from the two-day meeting.