JINHA

AMED – The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Siirt MP and Women’s Assembly speaker Besime Konca pointed to the hunger strike launched for demanding access to the PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and said, “The hunger strike will continue until we get news from Mr.Öcalan and Turkish state keeps its hands off the lands of the Kurds. The hunger strike will not be ended unless our demands are met.”

All prisoners of the PKK and PAJK had begun a hunger strike in all prisons in Turkey when communication with the PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan was cut on September, 12, 2012. As the prisoners resisted against death for 68 days, at the end of day 68, the door of negotiation with the PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan was opened. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Siirt MP Besime Konca was among those who joined the hunger strike in 2012. Besime told us the reasons to launch a hunger strike in 2012 and she said the unlawfulness in 2012 increasingly continued in 2016.

Besime pointed out that the prisons are an important resistance place for the Kurdish Freedom Struggle and she said, “The prisons are places for resistance and organization. Yes, we call prisons as dark places; however, they are places for resistance. We had launched the hunger strike in order to point to the siege and pressure imposed on people and the situation of Mr.Öcalan in prison. People were arrested and detained, chemical weapons were used and mountains were bombarded in 2011. Something should have been done in order to point to the conditions. The hunger strike was launched against isolation and oppression like now in 2016. We are in a progress that isolation has been imposed upon Mr.Öcalan and all prisoners and massacre policy has been carried out against people. The mountains were bombarded in 2012; our cities were bombarded in 2015. Thousands of our friends have been jailed and thousands of our people have been killed. As party and people, we issued democratic calls many times. The violation of right in 2012 has become double in 2016. Prisoners’ right to telephone access and see their families have been prevented or limited. Prisoners have been subjected to torture.”

Besime expressed that all demands of hunger strike are same and never changed. Besime said, “There were demands such as ending the oppression and attacks on Kurdish people, recognizing the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan as addressee and ending the oppression imposed upon prisoners. Of course the main purpose of these demands was to provide peace between peoples. After the hunger strike in 2012, they began to talk to Mr. Öcalan and a step was taken for peace. Today, someone should do something while there is a war close to us and a group consists of volunteers have launched a hunger strike instead of people in the prisons. Hundreds of people demanded to join the hunger strike and 50 people among them have launched the hunger strike.”

Besime expressed that there were participation in the hunger strike from the DTK (Democratic Society Congress), HDK (Peoples' Democratic Congress), KJA (Free Women's Congress), DBP (Democratic Regions' Party) and HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) and all democratic segments. Besime said, “There is a reaction to the unlawfulness of Erdoğan and his palace in all segments and many people want to stand by us. Kurdish people didn’t be annihilated and they won’t be annihilated. The hunger strike is an important action for all peoples in Kurdistan and all public opinion in Turkey. All people should stand up for our people those who have launched the hunger strike. Hunger strike won’t be ended unless our demands are met.”

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