MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed (Diyarbakır)- The “Call for Peace and Democratic Society” made by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan on February 27, 2025 is still on the agenda of Türkiye and Kurdistan. Following the call, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), in cooperation of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), announced that it would organize closed-door public meetings called, “Public Meetings for Peace and Democratic Society” in at least 100 districts and cities of Kurdistan and Türkiye from March 9 to March 15 to popularize the call. The mothers, who have paid a heavy price in the 40-year conflict, tell people what the call means by visiting their houses.

She could not say goodbye to her daughter

Meryem Soylu, 70, has been struggling for an honorable peace for years. She spent 10 years in prison for attending funerals of PKK members. Despite her health problems and advancing age, she kept struggling for peace and she was sentenced to six years and three months in prison on charges of “membership in an illegal organization”. Three children of Meryem Soylu joined the PKK and then lost their lives. Only her daughter was buried in her homeland and Meryem Soylu could not attend her daughter’s funeral because she was in prison. “I could not say goodbye to my daughter,” said Meryam Soylu, who has been searching for the bodies of her two sons for years.

‘We do not want young people to be killed anymore’

Despite suffering a lot, she never gives up struggling for peace. “I call on the Kurdish people to support this process. I believe that this conflict will eventually be crowned with peace,” Meryem Soylu told NuJINHA. “We will continue to demand peace at all costs. As mothers, we support the peace process. Kurdish people have paid a heavy price but still demand peace. We always demand peace; however, they (Turkish state) have killed thousands of people in the name of peace. We do not want young people to be killed anymore.”

‘Peace cannot be achieved by one-sided efforts’

Meryem Soylu called on the Turkish state to respond to the call of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan as soon as possible. “When the other side (Turkish people) comment on the call, they say ‘What about our martyrs?’. Do we have no martyrs? We have also lost our children. Peace cannot be achieved by one-sided efforts. We could not even find the bones of our children. Everyone should know very well that the process will end at the table no matter how long this conflict lasts. I call on the state to take a step for peace. The state should abandon its policies fueling the conflict. If the attacks on Rojava and here continue, this ceasefire will be meaningless.”

‘We will tell what the call means

Although Meryem Soylu has suffered a lot, the hope for peace sustains her. “Although we have spent years in prison and lost our children, we still demand peace,” she stressed, adding:

“We always demand the end of the bloodshed. Mr. Öcalan has called for peace many times; however, the state has responded to his calls by shedding blood. The state should take a step for peace now. This call is a great opportunity for both Turkish and Kurdish people. People must be united for peace. We will tell people what the call means.”