The indefinite hunger strike of PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party) and PAJK (Kurdistan Women's Liberation Party) prisoners in Turkey’s and Kurdistan’s prisons continues since March 4. Prisoners started their protest in all prisons with 10 day intervals and their demands are that the isolation on Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan is ended, his health and wellbeing is guaranteed, a return to the negotiations, recognition of the self-rule declarations and lifting of the blockade and siege on democratic autonomy regions.

The protest is declared to be a “warning” for President Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP. As the hunger strike continues, Deniz Kaya has made an announcement in the name of the prisoners on April 4, Öcalan’s birthday, and demanded they be transferred to İmralı.

The declaration states that the dirty war policies of the AKP was decided on September 30, 2014 and implemented on April 5, 2015 and goes on; “These policies that get deeper every day has revealed the true colors of the ruling mindset against the right to self-rule for Kurdish people and all other peoples and social groups once again. The people burned alive in the basements, people whose bodies were dragged behind armored vehicles, women whose naked bodies were displayed, the children and pregnant women who were killed, are all proof of the atrocities commited by the fascist state of the Republic of Turkey, in utter disregard of international law and rules of war. Ending of the meetings with our Leader, the Turkish army’s genocidal practices during their excursion into Kurdistan starting on July 27 and the political operations and arrests have shown that the fascist AKP state has no such goals as peace, solution or negotiations. All these were not seen as enough and they have inhumanely exiled our two comrades who were also in İmralı with our Leader; this is a threat and an attempt at a pull toward the idea of a solution based on surrender.”

"NO SILENCE AGAINST THE MASSACRES"

The declaration stressed that the Kurdish people were subjected to genocide and culturcide without a legal status and they are now expected to stay without legal status, rights or the rule of law for another era. The statement remarked that the state is aiming to destroy the historic, political, cultural and ethnic make up of the region with ever-expanding plans for massacres.

The declaration continues by pointing out that peoples and social groups are increasing their resistance in the face of the state's insistence on non-solution, adding;

"The Kurdish people, aware that the only way to face this level of oppression from the AKP state is to resist and embrace the popular resistance for self-rule, continue their struggle at the cost of countless prices. They say it is a crime against humanity to stay silent in the face of these massacres taking place in front of the eyes of the whole world and they defend themselves behind barricades and trenches. The front for struggle created by the leadership of the youth and women has made it possible to take the “brotherhood of the peoples and revolutionary solidarity” a step further than just a slogan. The United Revolutionary Movement of the Peoples (HBDH) declared on March 12, 2016 is the latest example of this and has taken its place in history.

CALL FOR ACTION

It should be known that the Turkish state usurping power at this level and the AKP fascism attacking our peoples, starting with the Kurdish people, aims to annihilate, intimidate our peoples and deprive them of their will.

It should also be known that the resistance until now has not been enough to nullify the fascism and the resistance has to grow and expand in every aspect and every level. All the peoples living in Turkey and especially their organised leaderships have the responsibility to do what this struggle deems necessary. It should not be forgotten that the Turkish state fascism aims to strip Kurdistan of its people and reshape the land in Kurdistan; a version of the same mentality as Israel fascism displacing the peoples of Palestine and employing the interests of hegemony there.

Our call to our people and all the peoples of Turkey is to stay in their homes and lands and to resist and not abandon their lands in the face of this attempt to destroy our history. We call upon all forces of democracy to embrace this resistance.”

“WE WON’T ATTEND VISITS IN APRIL AND MAY”

Kaya expressed that as PKK and PAJK prisoners, they will raise the resistance struggle of the Kurdish people and the Kurdish movement at all times and they stand with the peoples’ demand for self-rule, the Kurdish people’s in the first place.

Kaya, stating that the months of April and May have a mission of determining their fate as they are the dates of the birth of the Kurdish people, announced that they will not be attending contact and non-contact visits for these two months as a new facet of their resistance. Kaya stated: “Although we have not entirely realised the practice to meet this deep meaning and haven’t yet transcended the deficient comradery that results in the imprisonment of our Leadership, we promise all our peoples that we will be adequate comrades to the Leader, emancipate ourselves and create the conditions for our Leader’s free life. In this regard, we dedicate our resistance based on transforming our indefinite hunger strike protest that we started on March 5 to this meaningful birth. We as the PKK and PAJK prisoners will not be attending the contact and non-contact visits in April and May. We demand to be transferred to İmralı prison on the birthday of our Leader.”