Urgent appeal for solidarity with hunger strikes

Call for a meeting to set up a solidarity platform in Belgium.

Several organisations issued an urgent call for action in solidarity with the Kurdish hunger strike resistance.

The appeal, signed by Afrin platform, NavBel, Kurdish Institute Brussels, HDK, Halkevi, SKB, VREDE VZW, reads as follows;

“There is a hunger strike in the Turkish prisons and in Strasbourg. Leyla Güven, along with hundreds of other political prisoners, have been on hunger strike for over 100 days because not only their political rights but even their most basic legal and human rights are being violated. The hunger strikers say that there is no other way to oppose the demolition of democracy in Turkey. They also point to the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the further war plans of Erdogan. The hunger strikers in Strasbourg complain about the silence of the Council of Europe and the European Union. They say that the international community must urgently intervene to avoid deaths.

Both the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights have recently made good decisions, but their implementation remains dead. But also the Belgian government, co-responsible for implementation at European level, looks away. And unfortunately we have to conclude that the media and general public opinion also don’t pay attention to this impasse. However, the demands of the hunger strikers are legitimate.

This silence is deadly. The Kurdish communities in Europe and Belgium are alarmed. Urgent action is needed. We must awaken public opinion, the media and the Belgian government. The call for peace and democracy in Turkey must also resound here. That is only possible if we make a strong fist all together.

With this appeal we will bring together Kurdish, Turkish, Alevi, Armenian and Assyrian interested people and associations. But we also explicitly call upon Belgian and Flemish conscientious people, associations and political organizations to embrace and support this initiative. We call for a meeting to set up a solidarity platform.”

When: Saturday 23 February, 3 pm (until 5:30 pm)

Where: Assyrian association, Barastraat (Rue Bara) 152, 1070 Anderlecht / Brussels