Nupelda KARABUĞDAY
Journalist Kar argued that politicians can offer solutions during election campaigns but talk only about the problem after they are elected Journalist Cem Kar criticized the system, saying, “Which system, which justice are we talking about? Nobody says, ‘He worked very hard’ or ‘He’s very smart.’ They point out the problem. They also offer solutions during the election campaign, but after they are elected, they only talk about the problem.” Saying that there was no one to solve the problem, Kar said, “Arabacıoğlu said, ‘I can’t solve it,’ and left. It’s quite clear. So if the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister can’t solve it, they should leave too. We don’t need someone who talks about the problem. We need someone who will solve it.”
Commenting on the increase in the minimum wage and the protests, journalist Cem Kar said that concepts such as justice and equal opportunity did not exist in the country. Kar stressed that this situation would lead to greater social problems and said that the political establishment was responsible for finding solutions. The journalist said that the 115 TL increase had not met expectations and that, given conditions in the country, this could not be considered a minimum wage.
“THE MIGRATION LAW”
Kar also criticized the fact that the private sector was not represented on the Minimum Wage Determination Commission. Stressing that the country’s biggest problem was a lack of justice, Kar said that the problems affecting almost every segment of society today also stemmed from this lack of justice. Kar also warned that allowing this situation to continue would bring even greater social problems. Commenting on the law known in society as the Migration Law, Kar drew attention to the clear inequality of opportunity in the public sector. He said that this situation could be corrected only through politics.
“IMBALANCES”
The following are some of the key points from journalist Cem Kar’s remarks in response to Gözde Bekir’s questions on ADA TV: “It is imbalances that have brought us to this point. We can see the situation workers are in. I’m honestly surprised by what the Minimum Wage Determination Commission based its decision on. Is this a minimum wage, given the conditions in this country? It isn’t. There’s a problem with the Minimum Wage Determination Commission. The people who actually earn the minimum wage have no representatives. We have an Employers’ Union, but is there any organization that private-sector workers can turn to when they have a problem? There are serious obstacles to private-sector workers organizing.
“IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE”
If you talk about people being treated unfairly somewhere, that means there is no justice there. People say they’re being victimized for the third time. When you first hear about people being victimized, you think either that there’s a jungle-like order where nobody cares about anyone else, or that, if it’s a state governed by the rule of law, the law isn’t being properly upheld and there’s injustice. Justice must first come from the state. When I watched footage of CAS employees, I thought we were heading toward what happened 12 or 13 years ago, when there was a major crisis. Cars were overturned in front of Parliament, and all sorts of incidents took place. There was injustice then, too. They were bank victims; people had lost their money. Now there’s a similar case of people being victimized.
“IF YOU CAN’T FILL YOUR POCKETS, YOU MUST NOT BE VERY SMART” If your party is in power, you’ll line your pockets. That’s how it is. If you don’t, people say things like, ‘You must not be very smart.’ In a system like this, which system, which justice are we talking about? Nobody says, ‘He worked very hard’ or ‘He’s very smart.’ They point out the problem. They also offer solutions during the election campaign, but after they are elected, they only talk about the problem. Yet there is no one who can actually solve it. Arabacıoğlu said, ‘I can’t solve it,’ and left. It’s quite clear. So if the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister can’t solve it, they should leave too. We don’t need someone who talks about the problem. We need someone who will solve it.”