we condemn terrorist attacks in Ankara, Turkey

[murat g]

Power doesn’t only reign over bloodshed but it also deprives us of our right to mourn after our beloved ones. Antigone’s painful cry echoes through ages against the blood smearing fear and impotence of those in power. Today, our hearts ache with the sorrow of losing more than a hundred peaceful, innocent, and beautiful souls in Ankara; we haven’t mourned after those we lost in Kobane and Suruc yet. We have been deafened with the venomous clamour of a thousand talking heads; but bloody hands behind the murder of Hırant Dink, and Roboski and Diyarbakir massacres still haven’t been revealed. We have been there and seen the murder before and we know the murderer. We know very well the dark face of masculinity hiding behind a dictator who can’t bear peace and solidarity, who fears from a world of equality, freedom, and justice, and who can’t speak any language other than the exhaustive and silencing language of fascism. We aren’t afraid of his evil schemes and we will not surrender.

 

We, the members of the Initiative for Critical Studies of Masculinities, believe that our principal responsibility is to take sides with peace, to maintain freedom and equality, and to ensure peaceful but adamant campaigns to stop violence. We, hereby, call on our friends and siblings to condemn violence and the blunt discourse of violence seekers, to raise the voice of non-violent and peaceful struggle, to unite together and strenghten the bounds of solidarity, to put our words of peace straight more than ever. We will stop the sheer violence and take down the ivory towers of fascism that have been fortified with indifference and discrimination. Our hope, joy, and solidarity will generate new bright futures. Peace will prevail.