HDP MPs Tayyip Temel and Murat Sarısaç joined the indefinite hunger strike to lift the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan on 7 March. Deputies of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Dersim Dağ, Tayyip Temel and Murat Sarısaç continue their hunger strike actions despite the repression. The HDP members detained in Amed (Diyarbakir) are still on hunger strike under custody.

ANF ​​spoke to deputy Tayyip Temel about the hunger strike, the repression and the ongoing arrests. He recalled that such processes have often taken place in the history of Kurdistan, and that time has historically critical significance. The hunger strike would determine the fate of the country, Temel said, explaining that at critical stages there have been repeated and revolutionary actions such as hunger strikes.

Temel recalled the 1982 hunger strike in Diyarbakir Prison: "In 1982, Hayri and Kemal started the death fast in Diyarbakir Prison. There were no opportunities at the time and the Kurdish people faced the danger of death and annihilation. Turkey experienced a dark era. In such severe conditions, the death fast activists, whose bodies melted away day by day, brought new light to society. This historic action breathed new life into the struggle and society. Today's phase is very reminiscent of the time around 1982. Hunger strikes are produced by such critical conditions."

Fascist coalition has declared war on the Kurds

The AKP/MHP coalition declared war on the Kurds, Temel recalled: "As part of this war policy, the AKP/MHP coalition planned to kill, imprison or expel thousands of Kurds. This war plan is being implemented. Today, all four parts of Kurdistan are threatened. Erdoğan moves from street to street and declares that the Kurds will disappear from this country. The country of which he speaks is Kurdistan, ie the homeland and the land of the Kurds.

Erdoğan forces the Kurds to migrate through this policy. The demands of the hunger strikers are legitimate, the isolation of the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan must be ended immediately. The isolation on Imralı means the isolation of the whole country. This isolation is being implemented through massacres, detentions, arrests and repression."

Regarding the hunger strike resistance, Temel said, "On March 1, all prisoners started a hunger strike. On March 3, our deputy Dersim Dağ, HDP members Salih Cansever, Ismet Yildiz, Sevican Yaşar, Salih Tekin and Bilal Özgezer joined the hunger strike in the HDP building in Amed. Deputy colleague Murat Sarısaç and I also joined the Resistance on March 7. Let us be the voice of those whose bodies are getting weaker day by day. Let us prevent the deaths in this way. This is a just and moral duty."

The blockade of fascism must be smashed

Temel said the following about the police raid against the hunger strikers in Amed: "Police officers armed with assault rifles stormed our provincial organization. They beat the doors and turned their weapons on activists and MPs. Hundreds of people came to support the activists, but the police attacked them. Whatever comes, this resistance will continue, just as the resistance of our imprisoned friends continues. We three MPs continue our strike in the HDP provincial organisation of Amed. I call upon everyone to become the voice of this resistance. The goal of this resistance is to end the injustice on Imralı. On Imralı a judicial crime is committed. Öcalan must be able to meet his lawyers, his family and his tutelar. But the state fears Öcalan's ideas. It cannot tolerate Ocalan's relationship with society, so it deepens the isolation and attacks the people."

Temel criticized the inadequate resistance outside the prisons and said, "Because we did not fulfill our duty in the anti-fascist struggle outside, our imprisoned friends intervened and laid their bodies to death. The prisons have broken the blockade of fascism at all times, and they will do so today. As always, the prisoners play a historical role. It is a call to society that does not live up to its responsibilities. It is a cry and a call to all politicians and intellectuals, addressed to all humanity. This appeal is similar to the resistance of Hayri, Kemal and Mazlum."

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