Day 33 at Güvenpark: Mine-Blast Veteran Unable to Secure Meeting with Ministry of National Defence

Wounded war veterans and families of the fallen, now on their 33rd day at Ankara's Güvenpark, said not a single official from the Ministry of National Defence has agreed to meet with them. The protesters are demanding equal employment and welfare rights with commissioned and non-commissioned officer veterans.

Ataner Ersoy, 53, who lost a leg after stepping on a mine in Şırnak, said: "For 33 days, no one from the government has come or gone; we will not leave here without results." Hasan Dalkiran, who was severely wounded by a PKK rocket in Bingöl, closed with a stark image: "We called the state our father, but we have come to realise we are its stepchildren."

Mehmet Terzi, wounded during clashes in northern Iraq, said: "I have never seen families of the fallen and war veterans anywhere in the world lying in a park to seek their rights."

The protesters argue that current policy creates a de facto inequality — in salary and healthcare entitlements — between enlisted veterans and their commissioned and non-commissioned officer counterparts. Having repeatedly petitioned both the Presidency and the Ministry of National Defence, the veterans declared they will not leave Güvenpark until their appeals are answered.