The new group that took over the Freedom Vigil in Strasbourg called on the European Union to "stick to those laws you passed" and urged the Kurdish youth to "do whatever it takes this year to physically liberate our leader."
The Freedom Vigil, which was launched by the Initiative for the Freedom of Abdullah Öcalan on 25 June 2012 in Strasbourg, France to ensure the physical freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, continues in its 12th year.
The Freedom Vigil, which the Kurdish people living in Europe take over in groups every week, entered its 615th week.
The action, which continues at a location where the European institutions (CoE, EP, CPT and ECHR) meet, has been taken over by a new group from Kiel, Germany. The group consists of members of the Kiel Democratic Kurdish Community Centre and includes Agit Ural, Medine Ural, Abdullah Yılmaz and Şiyar Yılmaz.
Agit Ural was part of the hunger strike group of 14 politicians, lawyers, journalists and activists in Strasbourg on 17 December 2018. Marking Abdullah Öcalan’s birthday on 4 April, Agit Ural said "Happy birthday to our leader" and started his speech by celebrating Eid al-Fitr of the Islamic world.
Reminding the hunger strike action they organised in 2018 against the isolation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, Ural stated the following: "Although we got some results, it was not the way we wanted. In order to get a good result, the year 2024 is important for me. It is a year of resistance. We must do whatever it takes to physically liberate our leader. We address the European Parliament. Stick to those laws you passed. The human rights you bring up remain only on paper, you do not implement them in practice. The CPT, in particular, should make a point of this. Our expectation from our people, especially our youth, is that they should be more active and raise their voices more in 2024 in order to achieve results. Just as the resistance and the spirit of unity shown in Van made the enemy take a step back, our youth in Europe must raise their voices, increase their unity and organisation so that we can get results and get our Leader out of prison. We cannot achieve a result with a weak voice, participating in one action and not participating in another. Our only solution is for the youth to come forward, to organise and mobilise the people, to lead the way."
Şiyar Yılmaz noted that they are fighting for the lifting of the isolation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and ensuring his physical freedom. Stating that the Kurdish people should make their voices heard as much as possible on this issue, Yılmaz said, "If we all unite, the louder our voices are, the faster we will reach our goals."
