Green Left Party's Urfa candidate Ferit Senyasar: 'If elected, I will continue our pursuit of justice in parliament’

REMZI BUDANCIR- Ferit Senyasar, who survived an attack in which his father and two brothers were killed by the security detail and relatives of AKP Member of Parliament Ibrahim Halil Yildiz in the Suruc district of Urfa on June 14, 2018, is a candidate in the 4th place in the Urfa constituency for the Green Left Party. The AKP's top candidate in Urfa, where Ferit Senyasar has been holding a Justice Vigil since March 9, 2021, is Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag. Ferit Senyasar, who continues the justice vigil in Urfa with his mother Emine Senyasar, spoke to Arti Gercek about his candidacy process and goals.

For the past two years, you have been holding a justice vigil in front of the Urfa Courthouse with your mother, demanding justice. You are currently a candidate for parliament from the Green Left Party. How did the candidacy process develop?

When we started the justice vigil, I had no intention or goal of getting involved in politics. However, during the election period, we received suggestions from the people of Urfa, social media, and many other sectors, urging us to continue our struggle in Parliament and voice our demands there. While continuing the Justice Vigil with my mother, we thought about these suggestions and evaluated them. On the other hand, my mother and I have been holding this vigil together, and my mother, who is over 65 years old, began to experience health problems from going to the courthouse every day. Taking these two factors into consideration, we accepted the candidacy offer to generalize our fight for justice and voice it in Parliament.

OTHER PARTIES THAT CAME IN SOLIDARITY ALSO OFFERED CANDIDACY

Did the candidacy offer only come from the HDP? Did you receive offers from other parties as well?

The candidacy offer came from all political parties who stood in solidarity with us in front of the courthouse. They said, "If you are thinking of going to parliament and becoming a member of parliament, our door is open as a party." Since then, the HDP has been the party that has supported our cause the most. There was also a "so-called" trial for the workplace massacre, and at every hearing, at least two to three HDP deputies came to court and attended the hearing. They supported our struggle. So we became candidates for the HDP in order to go to parliament.

Which political parties made candidacy offers? Can you provide names?

The candidacy offer came from all the political parties that showed solidarity by coming to the Urfa Courthouse. It would be unethical to name them.

THE MAIN REASON WE SIT IN FRONT OF THE COURTHOUSE IS THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE

You are a candidate from the Green Left Party. The first candidate of the AKP in Urfa is Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag. Your demand for justice is directly addressed to the judiciaary and the Ministry of Justice. You will be competing against Justice Minister Bozdag in the election. What do you think about Justice Minister Bozdag running in Urfa and running against him?

We most definitely do not regard the Justice Minister as a rival. The main reason for starting our justice demand with a sit-in in front of the courthouse is the Justice Minister himself, who fails to provide justice. We will fight against this injustice and illegality. During the election campaign and propaganda period, we will talk about the injustices of the Ministry of Justice. We will target him because the Justice Minister is the one who should ensure justice, and the reason we sit in front of the courthouse is to demand justice. They intervene in the judiciary openly by protecting the member of parliament who is associated with the party responsible for the massacre. The judicial process has reached a stalemate. The people of Urfa already know this situation. Our goal is to change the government that commits these injustices, insults the people in the earthquake region, and interferes with the judicial system. This is our sole objective.

HE BUILT A NEW DOOR BEHIND THE COURTHOUSE TO AVOID SEEING US

About two weeks before the election period, the Minister of Justice came to the front of the Urfa courthouse again. We were sitting in front of the side entrance of the courthouse. Just to avoid seeing us, he built a new door behind the courthouse and now enters and exits from there. He admits to this injustice, but he ignores us because he is protecting the member of parliament within his party. We believe that the people of Urfa see this injustice, and we are confident that on May 14, they will give this government the necessary historical lesson at the Ministry of Justice.

I WILL BE THE VOICE OF EVERYONE WHO SEEKS JUSTICE

You have been continuing the justice vigil in front of the Urfa Courthouse with your mother since 2021. If you are elected, you will enter the parliament in Ankara. How will your pursuit of justice continue from now on? Will you take your justice vigil to the parliament?

We said on the first day we started this vigil that we would not leave the courthouse until justice is served. Currently, we go to the courthouse five days a week. If I enter parliament after being elected, I will continue our pursuit of justice there. However, we will still come and continue our vigil in front of the Urfa courthouse for at least two days a week until this injustice and violation of rights is eliminated. We will expand our struggle and be the voice of everyone who seeks justice in parliament. We have a goal in this direction.