A vigil by the Democratic Kurdish Community in Switzerland has been taking place in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva since 25 January 2021. Every Wednesday, activists stage a protest in front of the United Nations building to demand the release of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan. The action is carried out as part of the 'Dem dema azadiye' [Time for Freedom] campaign and directed against the isolation of the Kurdish leader on the Turkish prison island of Imrali, the Turkish occupation attacks on Kurdistan, the massacres committed in Kurdish territories and the silence of the UN.

During this week's demonstration, which is held at a tent set up in Nation Square where the UN Office is located, activists protested the usurpation of the municipalities of Mardin, Batman and Halfeti and the appointment of trustees in the place of the democratically elected mayors of the Kurdish population.

İbrahim Yüksel, Co-Chair of the Geneva Democratic Kurdish Community Centre, said that the occupying and colonialist Turkish state carries out massacre attacks in Kurdistan on the one hand, while on the other hand, it ignores the will of the Kurdish people and puts usurpation policies into effect. “Our priority is to raise the struggle against fascism,” Yüksel said.

Yekbûn Güneş read the statement on behalf of the Kurdish Women's Union of Switzerland (YJK-S) and called on international institutions, especially the UN, to ‘enforce your laws against isolation, occupation and usurpation of will’.

Further statements on behalf of TCŞ and Teko-JIN were followed by speeches on behalf of internationalist youth organisations which called for solidarity with the Kurdish people.