My impression from the Justice March - excitement lines the road

The majority of those on the Justice March will certainly be familiar with Yılmaz Güney’s film ‘The Road’. The film tells of the journeys that start when four convicts in prison depart for their homes on one week’s Eid leave. Yılmaz Güney actually conceived the story to be that of eleven convicts and had previously come up with the title of ‘Eid’ for the film in his head. But, he himself was in prison at that time. Turkey was under 12 September conditions. Those conditions led to the film mutating into the story of four convicts and its title becoming ‘The Road’. The four convicts have a period of one week. They are to go home and return to the prison in that time. But, as their travel adventures become ever more varied against the backdrop of conditions in Turkey, none of them even makes it home and they fail to return to prison, taking the film to its finale.

The Road and Eid

The film ‘The Road’ ends its journey with an award in Cannes. Yılmaz Güney’s road and journey, in common with Turkey, pass through events that were unimaginable at the time and lead as far to France. The first steps of marches having a social and political nature, the march itself and the march’s finale are not the same things. This was what I sensed from my chat with CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu following an Eid day spent walking. It was a chat in an atmosphere that would see associations made between the march itself and its aims, the film’s titles of ‘The Road’ and ‘Eid’, the prisons forming part of the background to both and between the film and reality. Murat Yetkin, in writing yesterday in Hürriyet that, ‘Kılıçdaroğlu’s march may change the flow of politics,’ brought out the full significance of this association. I observed during the chat that Kılıçdaroğlu was engaging in the behaviour of a true traveller. Naturally enough, he speaks mostly of ‘justice’. Apart from ‘justice’, the two words that he opts for the most are ‘excitement’ and ‘hope’.

The changes

When Kılıçdaroğlu set out on the road, he charted his course for Istanbul Maltepe, in line with the decision he took following Enis Berberoğlu’s detention. The course still remains unchanged. However, he refers to situations that have become different over the journey as follows: ‘At the beginning, I set out with my placard at Güven Park. We covered 21 kilometres on the first day. However, this was an initial moment. On the second day, we began to march in a more orderly way and in keeping with the aim. A true body of marchers basically came into being on the second day, not the first day.’
Kılıçdaroğlu has now covered half of the march. Having completed half the march, he says, ‘It is good I set out on the road.’ Kılıçrdaroğlu, speaking of the self-confidence that the march has engendered in him and those in his entourage regarding the basic aim of justice, creates the impression that his perspective has widened further after having covered 200 kilometres as opposed to when he took his first steps. He draws attention to the interest and support he has attracted on the road. He says that, apart from the support given verbally and through gestures and applause at the roadside from those not participating on the march, he has received many messages and phone calls and this has made him think, ‘It is good that I launched this march.’

MHP-HDP

Kılıçdaroğlu is also comfortable with questions as to whether supporters of the SP, those of the MHP who voted ‘no’ on 16 April and of the HDP should join the march. His reply to such questions is, ‘Everyone who needs justice and seeks justice can join this march. This is their most democratic of rights. I make no party distinction. But, this march should not be a march on which they bring their party identities to the fore. It is incorrect for anybody to participate under their party identity. We are also marching as seekers of justice, not under a CHP identity. I know and sense that there are those in the AKP who seek justice. They cannot raise their voices, but this march is also open to them.’

The march will end but the road will not

The most serious discussion about the march is over its Istanbul leg. Question marks are raised over whether there will be a provocation and the kind of situation that will be encountered if one million people assemble. Kılıçdaroğlu makes optimistic pronouncements about this, too; ‘We will enter Istanbul in a festive, hopeful and very optimistic mood. Pessimism will absolutely not be involved. Hope is needed for people who are in search of justice. We are breaking hopelessness with this march in any case. We will reach Istanbul in hope, high spirits and excitement.’ Kılıçdaroğlu emphasises that for as long as the state of emergency remains in place and for as long as people’s anguish in support of the judiciary and democracy continues, the quest for justice will continue and they will also keep it going. His final message is like a reference to the film ‘The Road’: ‘This march will end in great exuberance and hope in Istanbul. But, only this march will end. We have now embarked on this road. This road will not end until we bring about justice.’