On 14 October 2006, the Union of Chambers of Architectures and Engineers ( TMMOB ) have criticized the neoliberal policies of the Justice and Development Party ( AKP ) by organising a central rally in Ankara. More than 15 thousand engineers came together in the rally, saying "We are defending the labour, our people, our member, the life and our profession". The political parties, trade unions and democratic organisations have also supported the rally.
In his speech, the General President of TMMOB, Mehmet Soganci, pointed out the incidents of recent lynching attempts and demanded the abolishment of Article 301 that has been put as a barrier before the freedom of expression. The engineers at the rally shouted the following slogans: "Word, authority and decision to the working people", "We are the ones who produce, we will be the ones who administer", "We want to live like a human", "No to War", "Killer USA, get out of the Middle East", and "The day will come and AKP will give account to the people".