The vigil under the slogan "Time for freedom" in front of the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva will resume every Wednesday after a forced break due to pandemic. Yesterday morning, a "resistance tent" was set up in front of the UN building, after which activists gathered for a rally.

In protest against the ignorance of the United Nations in the face of the demands of the Kurdish people, the participants symbolically turned their backs on the UN building. Musician Kawa Urmiye gave a speech on behalf of the Kurdish Community of Switzerland (CDK-S) and said: "The guerrillas in the mountains, the prisoners in Turkey and the Kurds living in Europe are behind the Kurdish movement's freedom campaign and are showing massive resistance."

Urmiye pointed to the hunger strike of political prisoners in Turkey against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the rights violations in detention centers and said that the demands must be met. "In response to the silence of the international community on the crimes of the Turkish state, we will continue to raise our voices everywhere," Urmiye said.

10,000 letters sent to UN secretary general

Commenting on the campaign for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and a just peace in Turkey, Geneva-based CDK Chairman Salih Sağlam said that more than 10,000 letters have already been sent to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The letter-writing campaign was initiated in January by the South African trade union confederation COSATU and the Kurdish Human Rights Action Group (KHRAG) in South Africa. A coordinated international solidarity campaign aims to persuade the UN to act. The UN set a precedent by calling for Nelson Mandela's release, and also played a crucial role in the adoption of the so-called Nelson Mandela Rules, which set the UN's standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. These precedents form the basis for the treatment of political prisoners and also confirm that the release of authentic and credible leaders is crucial in any peace process.

In addition to many other organizations around the world, the Kurdish European Association KCDK-E has also joined the letter-writing campaign.