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.

This week's demonstration, which is held at a tent set up in Nation Square where the UN Office is located, started with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the ISIS suicide attack under police surveillance, which claimed the lives of 33 mainly young people and left 104 others injured, some seriously, in Suruç district of Urfa on 20 July 2015. The attack in the Suruç district of Urfa occurred when around 300 volunteers had gathered at the Amara Cultural Center at the request of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) to hold a press conference before leaving for Kobanê. The planned trip to northern Syria was intended to be an act of solidarity. The young people wanted to bring toys and humanitarian aid to the city destroyed by ISIS.

Speaking on behalf of the Action Committee, İbrahim Yüksel, Co-Chair of the Democratic Kurdish Community of Geneva (CDK-Ge), drew attention to the 25-year imprisonment of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the absolute isolation conditions that have exceeded the dimensions of torture for the last 40 months.

Yüksel stated that on 24 July marks the 101st year of the Treaty of Lausanne, which was concluded by the imperialist states to protect their own interests and imposed denial and genocide on the people of Kurdistan and peoples in the region.

“With this treaty signed 101 years ago, the lands of Kurdistan were divided into 4 parts. Today, the imprisonment of Leader Öcalan and the implementation of absolute isolation policies, as well as the invasion attacks and annexation attempts against Kurdistan are based on the continuation of this dirty treaty. As the Kurdish people, as we ignore this treaty, and we will continue to stand by the guerrilla struggle against invasion attacks and attempts to annex the Kurdistan geography," he underlined.

Yüksel noted that the Kurds living in Geneva will take part in the protest march and rally to be held on 27 July in Lausanne on the occasion of the 101st anniversary of the treaty and called for participation in the demonstration.