Launched globally in October 2023, the international campaign ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question’ is continuing in Turkey with a series of demonstrations in various cities. The ‘March for a Democratic Solution and Freedom’ started on Monday in Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) and is scheduled to end in Ankara on Friday. The action is organised by the ‘Platform of Democratic Institutions’, which includes parties and civil society organisations.

Having arrived in Urfa on Tuesday and in Antep on Wednesday, the participants continued their action in Adana and Mersin on Thursday.
In Adana, the activists gathered at the Dağlıoğlu neighborhood in Seyhan district and made a press statement.

'We do not want the will of our people to be trampled on'

Speaking here, Kerem Canpolat, Co-President of the MED Federation of Legal and Solidarity Associations of Families of Prisoners and Convicts (MED TUHAD-FED), said: “Wars continue in our country and in the Middle East. We do not want war but a solution. There have been protests for the PKK leader, Mr Abdullah Öcalan, for a year. The solution is linked to isolation. There can be no solution without the end of isolation. There was a period when the state treated Mr Öcalan as an interlocutor and there were no more deaths. We do not want the will of our people to be trampled on and we want the isolation to end. These wars will not end until the Kurdish question is solved. All the demands we will express in Ankara are the demands of our people.”

'We will not allow them to drag the Middle East into war'

Member of the Democratic Islamic Congress (DIK) Emin Ay said, “A new situation has emerged in Syria. Hegemonic powers want to realise the design of a hundred years ago. There is a large segment of people who are concerned about this situation. Self-government is everyone's right. We will not allow them to drag the Middle East into war and the will of the Kurdish people to be trampled on. We want freedom for all peoples. In his call, Devlet Bahçeli said that Mr Öcalan is a messenger of peace. A law should be passed without delay and Mr Öcalan's physical freedom should be ensured.”

'Öcalan's idea offers a meaningful perspective for the whole Middle East'

DEM Party Muş MP Sümeyye Boz stated: “We are marching to Ankara for democracy, solution and freedom of Mr Öcalan. We are marching for all peoples. This march harbours hope. Mr Öcalan's idea offers a meaningful perspective for the whole Middle East. Any intervention against this idea will lead to war. Those who call for peace on the one hand have shown their seriousness and sincerity by blockading us on the other. This is not an issue that can be avoided. The most important matter is to find a solution to what is happening in Turkey and the Middle East. Democracy and justice are not only the demands of the Kurdish people. They know that the insistence on the Kurdish question and war policies are the source of all these problems. They have pointed to the addressee and we are showing this addressee once again. The solution to the source of all the problems is Mr Öcalan's idea and solution paradigm. Conditions must be provided for Mr Öcalan to fulfil his mission. Mr Öcalan's practical and theoretical mind must be trusted and peace must be given a chance. This move will not end here. This march will continue until Mr Öcalan regains his physical freedom and the Kurdish question is solved.”

The participants then moved to Mersin, where they gathered at the Barış (Peace) Park in the central Akdeniz district.

'We defend peace but not war, life but not death'

Aziz Özkan from the Labour Assembly made the first speech on behalf of the marchers and said, “We set out for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Tomorrow in Ankara, we will express that the war policies in Turkey and the budget allocated to it impoverish the people. The budget spent on war is stolen from the pockets of labourers. As labourers, we support this march. We will shout on every field that we do not want war. Labourers and poor people do not want war. We defend peace but not war, life but not death. Isolation policies are applied to everyone. We demand the solution of the Kurdish question and the lifting of isolation.”

'We want peace for Kurds and the Middle East'

Meryem Tura from the Peace Mothers' Assembly said, “We want our march to be an occasion for peace. We want peace for Kurds and the Middle East. We do not want bloodshed. We appeal to the President of the Republic to ensure peace. The will of the Kurdish people is constantly usurped. They appoint trustees and declare war on Rojava. Remove your dirty hands from our land. We also appeal to all the families of soldiers and police officers to come together for peace and let us take steps together for a solution to the Kurdish question. We demand the freedom of the Kurdish People's Leader, Mr Abdullah Öcalan. Mothers should no longer cry and peace should finally be achieved. We want the unity of the Turkish and Kurdish people.”

'We will stand by the Kurdish people'

Socialist Refoundation Party (SYKP) Co-Chair Mertcan Titiz said, “We will stand by the Kurdish people until the isolation in İmralı ends and the Kurdish question is solved.”

‘Build barricades in front of war, not in front of peace’

DEM Party Mardin MP Saliha Aydeniz said, “The Kurdish people and their friends have been marching for 40 years for a solution to this issue. Our struggle for peace and freedom will surely come to a conclusion. War is easy, but peace is difficult. We Kurds are struggling to overcome this difficulty. The government and the state should also strive for peace. Build barricades in front of war, not in front of peace. The Kurdish people are marching for peace and continue to do so. Efforts are being made to build a system without Kurds in the Middle East. The time when the fate of the Kurdish people was drawn a century ago is not the same as today. The Kurds of the time and the Kurds of today are not the same. We have paid thousands of prices on these lands. It is not possible to extend the hand of peace on the one hand and wage war on Rojava on the other. In Rojava, all peoples have built a life together. An attack on Rojava today would be a destruction for Turkey’s democracy. The reason for the multiple crises in Turkey today is the isolation and war policies. Everyone knows about the paradigm and philosophy of Mr Öcalan. The solution offered by Mr Öcalan is also a way to overcome this multiple crisis in Turkey. Let's talk in parliament about a solution to the Kurdish question and how democracy can be built. The solution is Mr Öcalan, whom millions of people call ‘my leader’. Both we and the state know very well that Mr Öcalan is the interlocutor on this question.”