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The Long March for Kurdish Rights and
Freedom for jailed leader Öcalan heading towards
Basel
8.2.2012 |
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Among the marchers are artist Seyidxan, writer
Samanci, former MEP Uca. Photo: ANF
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February 8, 2012
LIESTAL, — The Long March for Freedom and
Kurdish rights has reached day 8. Despite the
Siberian temperatures hundreds of Kurds living in
Europe have joined the march organized by KON-KURD
(Confederation of Kurdish Associations in Europe).
Today, Wednesday, the march will stop in Basel where
a meeting is planned.
Speaking about the meeting in Basel, march
organization committee member İsmet Kem said that
“the city of Basel has a remarkable population of
patriotic Kurds. We expect Kurdistan’s people and
their friends here to join the meeting on February 8
as this welcome and meeting will be the only act to
warm our friends up.”
People marching with flags are chanting slogans like
“We are on the Road for Our Existence and Freedom!”.
The Long March protests the prison conditions of the
Kurdish leader Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, without whom the
Kurds feel no solution of the Kurdish question is
possible.
The long march for freedom started at the United
Nations headquarters in Geneva and will end in
Strasbourg on the 18 of February.
Among the marchers are writers, artists,
politicians. Here some of the remarks they made
during the march.
Artist Seyidxan: I feel proud to be amongst my
people and to be marching with them. As Kurdish
artists we have important responsibilities in
working to bring about the freedom of our leader
Abdullah Öcalan and bringing him back to the people.
Artists can only win the respect of their people by
being amongst them in solidarity and by meeting the
needs of the people. Ever step I have taken during
the march has made me think about how I can be of
more use and value to the people and our struggle
for the freedom of our leader. We will complete our
march with enthusiasm, belief and hope.
Writer Suzan Samancı: The pain and suffering of the
Kurdish people is due to the Kurds not having a
status. This is why I find it important that a march
such as this was organised and I attended. All
through the march I have witnessed the belief and
joy of the Kurds, this is a sign of how far they
have come, and this is the most important thing. I
am particularly overjoyed by the stance and belief
of the women attending the march. I believe all
Kurdish women whose hearts beat for freedom must
also join us at the march and become part of this
belief and demand.
Activist Hanım Engizek: The freedom of Kurdish
Peoples’ leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in
total isolation for six months, is as much as the
freedom of Kurdish women as it is the freedom of the
Kurdish people. As Kurdish women we are attending
this march to show that the freedom of our leader is
equal to our freedom.
Former MEP Feleknas Uca: I find this march very
meaningful. Despite all the oppression and massacres
the voice of the Kurds is being ignored. This is why
we are on the streets today to join forces and raise
our voices in determining our fate and freeing
Kurdish Leader Mar Öcalan. The thing that has most
excited me in this march is the variety of the
participants. People from different beliefs,www.ekurd.net
youth, old people, women, everyone is walking with
confidence, belief and joy in these adverse weather
conditions; this excites me. It is important that
European organisations and powers hear this voice,
feel this belief and take initiative for the Kurdish
issue, but what is more important is the unity of
the people here.
Since it was established in 1984, the PKK has been
fighting the Turkish state, which still denies the
constitutional existence of Kurds, to establish a
Kurdish state in the south east of the country, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000
lives.
But now its aim is the creation an autonomous
Kurdish region
and more cultural rights for ethnic Kurds who
constitute the greatest minority in Turkey,
numbering more than 20 million. A large Turkey's
Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
PKK's demands included releasing PKK detainees,
lifting the ban on education in Kurdish, paving the
way for an autonomous democrat Kurdish system within
Turkey, reducing pressure on the detained PKK leader
Abdullah Öcalan, stopping military action against
the Kurdish party and recomposing the Turkish
constitution.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish
politicians say the measures fall short of their
expectations.
The PKK is considered ass 'terrorist' organization by
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its
political wing on the European Union's terror list.
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