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Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Youth Branches on Monday held simultaneous “Empty Desks” events in all 81 provinces, drawing attention to the thousands of children in Gaza who have been deprived of education and lost their lives amid Israel’s attacks.
In Ankara’s Kızılay Square, AK Party Youth Branch Chair Yusuf Ibiş joined members in placing desks draped with Palestinian scarves and bearing the names of children killed in Gaza.
The symbolic action, Ibiş said, represented “unfinished dreams” of a generation cut short by war.
“Thousands of desks are empty because the children who were supposed to sit in them are no longer alive,” Ibiş told reporters. “Their bags were left hanging on doors, their notebooks unopened, their pens unwritten. The bombs of murderous Israel took their lives.”
He cited figures claiming more than 19,000 children have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, and said hundreds of schools, libraries and classrooms have been reduced to rubble. “The recess bell children once waited for has been replaced by the ominous sound of bombs,” he said.
The youth leader said the devastation amounts to the erasure of Gaza’s future teachers, engineers and doctors.
“Every empty desk is the dream of a child stolen from humanity,” Ibiş said, describing the names and scarves left on the desks as “symbols of shame that should be engraved on the conscience of humanity.”
The statement also recalled the death of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, killed by gunfire, and of children such as Zeynep, who died of hunger under blockade conditions. “This is a genocide carried out before the eyes of the world,” Ibiş said.
Quoting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ibiş reiterated that “defending the Palestinian cause is defending humanity, peace and justice.” He added: “Children who should be running in playgrounds are now lined up in morgues.”
Ibiş strongly criticized the international community for what he called its silence and failure to act.
“Where is international law? Where is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Where are the multibillion-dollar institutions that speak out in crises elsewhere?” he asked. “Israel’s massacres without sanction corrode the very foundations of human rights and law.”
He vowed the AK Party Youth Branches would continue to raise awareness and stand with Palestinians. “We will never be silent, we will never forget and we will not allow others to forget,” Ibiş said. “Those disturbed by our struggle for Palestine should continue to be disturbed. We will never back down from proclaiming justice and standing firmly with the oppressed.”
The program concluded with Ibiş leaving the first message in a memorial book for Palestinian children. His note read: “A Free Palestine, especially for children.”
