Day 51 in Strasbourg: Resistance on the people’s agenda

Kurds who came from Kurdistan and Australia to visit the hunger strikers in Strasbourg said, “Our agenda is resistance”.

There were people who came from thousands of miles away to support the indefinite non-alternating hunger strike in Strasbourg on its 51st day to break the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan. A Kurdish patriot named Cemil Gultekin relayed messages of support from Kurds in Australia and Izzet Yildirim from Giessen, Germany spoke about his impressions of Kurdistan where he was until very recently.

“TURKISH STATE’S PLANS FALL APART”

Gultekin said the protest has created excitement among Kurds in Australia. Gultekin said hunger strikes have been part of the Kurdish culture of resistance since the 1982 prison resistances and added that the Turkish state’s plans to make the prisoners surrender fell apart due to the hunger strikes at the time.

“LEADING KURDISH WOMEN”

Gultekin referred to the motto, “Resistance is life”, and said Kurdish women have been leading the hunger strikes against the isolation in the person of Leyla Guven, and that Kurdish women are the pride of women everywhere. Gultekin also mentioned Arin Mirxan who carried out a sacrifice action in 2014 during the Kobane resistance and added: “Today it is Kurdish women who lead this action as well.”

“KURDS IN AUSTRALIA SUPPORT THE HUNGER STRIKES”

Cemil Gultekin said Kurds in Australia support the indefinite non-alternating hunger strikes in Turkey and Europe with their own demonstrations and that Kurds in the diaspora have their hearts beating with the hunger strikers.

“OCALAN HOLDS THE KEY”

Izzettin Yildirim brought greetings from the people in Kurdistan where he visited recently and stressed that hunger strikes are a form of democratic protest throughout the world. Yildirim stressed that everybody knows Ocalan holds the key to the solution to issues in the Middle East, and added that hunger strikes against the isolation are significant in this regard.

Izzettin Yildirim said hunger strikers are putting their bodies on the line and that it shows great resolve.

Yildirim said the people in Kurdistan have the hunger strikes on their agenda more than the upcoming local elections. “Many conscientious people cannot eat themselves when they see the hunger strikes on the news,” said Yildirim in his description of the respect the people have for the resistance.

Yildirim said the isolation must be ended at once and European countries need to take responsibility.