DTK co-chair Leyla Güven: Enough with slavery

DTK co-chair Leyla Güven said it is in the hands of the Kurds to unite, adding; "We should say enough with living under persecution and slavery. We should establish our own status."

The Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Leyla Güven attended a public meeting held at the Karlıova district organization of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Bingöl and pointed to the increasing pressures.

Güven said: "Nobody was allowed to say I am a Kurd. We emerged from the underground and said ‘Kurds exist and we have rights. They have been trying to divide the Kurds for a century, they want to make them forget their culture and language. They wanted the Kurds annihilated."

Güven added: "That's why our ancestors Sheikh Said, Seyit Rıza and recently Mr. Öcalan said 'we are here’. We have been in these lands since humanity first existed. Who can say that we, Kurds, do not exist? They massacred and exiled many Kurdish people. We need to know our history very well. The world recognizes the existence of the Kurds now. The denial of the Kurds is now over. We have the means and the courage and these are very valuable. We came to these days paying a price".

Güven continued: "Now, over one hundred years. The governments of England, America and Russia scheme in the Middle East. Turkey, Iran, and Syria are also involved in these schemes. We need to take everything into account. It is in our hands to create a spirit of unity for the Kurds."

Underlining the importance of Kurdish national unity, Güven said, "We must put two things in front of us. Mr. Öcalan and Masoud Barzani can ensure the unity of the Kurds. They can hold a national congress. We should say enough with living under pressure and slavery.”