NÛPELDA DENİZ

Makhmour-Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held in total isolation in the prison island of Imrali for 26 years and no news has been received from him since March 25, 2021. The vigil demanding started in the Martyr Rustem Cudi Camp (Makhmour refugee camp) to demand his physical freedom on July 20, 2023 continues. NuJINHA spoke to three women participating in the vigil.

‘They use the isolation to annihilate the Kurdish people’

“I have been participating in the vigil to demand the physical freedom of leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan),” said Roj Yıldıztan. “Leader Apo has not been allowed to see his lawyers and family members. The isolation imposed on leader Apo is an isolation imposed on the Kurdish people. They (Turkish authorities) use the isolation to annihilate the Kurdish people. As the Kurdish people, we demand the physical freedom of our leader. We must understand what leader Apo asks us and do it. We will keep holding protests until we ensure his freedom. As the Kurdish people, we must fight more for leader Apo and our freedom because what leader Apo asks us is to have a free will.”

‘We will not give up resisting’

Roj Yıldıztan also pointed to the ongoing Turkish attacks on the camp. “The Turkish state attacked the camp twice a week. The ongoing Turkish attacks on the camp affect all people, especially children and women. Our people, particularly young people, should resist the attacks because the Turkish state aims to annihilate us. We will not give up resisting until our leader has his physical freedom.”

‘The physical freedom of leader Apo is also our freedom’

The vigil demands the physical freedom of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, said Duygu Benek, one of the women participating in the vigil. “An       aggravated isolation has been imposed on leader Apo for 26 years. For four years, we have received no news from him. The Turkish state has no tolerance for the resisting Kurdish people. It uses all kinds of inhuman methods to attack the Kurdish people. As young women, we will resist to fail its attacks. The vigil started in the camp demanding the physical freedom of leader Apo. We, the youth, must fulfill our duties and responsibilities and strengthen our struggle for his freedom. The physical freedom of leader Apo is also our freedom. I call on all Kurdish young men and women to stand up against all kinds of attacks and resist them.”

‘We must ensure his physical freedom’

Dîcle Benek believes that the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan is also imposed on all Kurdish people. “The vigil in the camp has continued for more than a year. As young women of Makhmour, we demand the physical freedom of leader Apo. The isolation imposed on our leader is also imposed on all Kurdish people. The problems in the Middle East will be solved with the freedom of Leader Apo. As young women and Kurdish youth, we must fulfill our responsibilities and ensure the physical freedom of our leader.”