DİYARBAKIR - An indefinite-alternating hunger strike was started in prisons on November 27 because of the ongoing isolation imposed on the PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. The women who joined the hunger strikes in 2018 called on people to support their action and said "The hunger strikes should be understood as a new message of total resistance that will be strengthened by the prisoners.”

 

Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-Chair Leyla Güven started a hunger strike on November 8, 2018, in order to end the oppression and the isolation imposed on the PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Hundreds of prisoners in prisons joined that hunger strike. After his lawyers' visit to İmralı Island on May 22 (a prison on this island and Abbllah Öcalan is held there) and meeting with Abdullah Öcalan, the message of Abdullah Öcalan was shared with the public opinion by a statement. Following the message of Abdullah Öcalan, the 200-day hunger strikes were ended.

 

Shortly after the strikes ended, the government again stepped back from the point of negotiations. The government restricted the visiting of the lawyer and family to Abbullah Öcalan and ignored their demands for visiting him. Making a statement through their lawyers on November 25, the prisoners announced that they would start an indefinite-alternating hunger strike against the ongoing isolation on Abdullah Öcalan and the violations of rights against the prisoners again.

 

The strike started by the first group on November 27 and ended on December 2, while the second group started the strike the same day. The second group's strike is going on the 3rd day.

 

Women, who joined the hunger strikes that lasted for 200 days in 2018, then were released from prison while they were on hunger strike, and kept their hunger strike out of prison. The women explain the purpose of the hunger strike and call on people to support it.

 

'Isolation is imposed on the whole society'

 

Saying that the prisoners started a hunger strike because of the dirty policies of the state, Sevican Yaşar added, "The ongoing isolation means the will of the Kurdish people is ignored.'' Expressing that the government acts against the law and the constitution, Sevican said, “The law is suspended insistently. The Constitution is disregarded and the isolation is imposed on the whole society through Imrali. This time, the government and the state should stop expecting different results by taking the same steps each time. As long as this attitude continues, the objections against it will continue to manifest themselves through such methods. Just like we did in 2019 or the hunger strikes that were started before us.”

 

'Everyone should raise their voices before deaths occur'

 

Stating that the government should improve the prison conditions and remove the isolation, Sevican said, “If the hunger strikers’ demands are not met, they may take more radical decisions and that can cost the lives of the prisoners. The demands are clear and not difficult to be implemented. Turkey should execute its own law and international human rights conventions. The demands are not impossible demands; on the contrary, they are rights that must be applied. Everyone should fulfill their responsibility. The CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) should remember that it is a commission to prevent the torture, not a 'monitoring it'. All the democratic, revolutionary and progressive forces of the country should raise their voices on this issue without deaths occur."

 

'Hunger strikes were launched to fulfill the ideals of the people'

 

Underlining that the Kurdish people were not acquainted with hunger strikes and death fasts for the first time, Derya Aslan cited the government's policies as the reason why the prisoners applied to hunger strikes. Derya said, “Hunger strikes are a magnificent stance of life to turn your body into a defense mechanism against any attack, the ideals and values of the people and to risk death for this purpose. Before the Solution Process (Negotiation between the PKK and Turkish State), thousands of Kurdish prisoners contributed to the start of a historical process by starting hunger strikes. However, the ruling system could not understand the message of 10 thousands of prisoners now and continues to maintain the pressure and isolation policies against Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is the only interlocutor of the Kurdish people on the island of İmralı, and the ruling power continues to sever its ties with the people and its structure. The hunger strikes initiated by Leyla Güven in October 2018, when the isolation policies peaked and spread by hundreds of prisoners, were crowned by the death fast resistance at the end.

 

"We are calling on people to raise their voice for prisons"

 

Derya pointed out that the resistance and struggle are growing in the region, but the isolation should be broken in absolute terms. She stated that they ended the strikes as a result of the steps taken by the government in 2019, but they saw that the government does not learn from what happen today. Stating that the biggest step to be taken against that is to "resist" Derya said, "At this stage, the prisoners have restarted the hunger strikes they ended by taking responsibility with the decision to restart what they ended.

 

'Prisons are the headquarters of resistance'

 

Expressing that the state aimed to destroy the Kurdish people by carrying massacres in 2015, Zülfiye Kişmir reminded the process that took place after the declaration of self-government. Noting that policies aimed at deepening the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan, Zülfiye said, “We consider the prisons as the headquarters of resistance rather than a place of punishment. Hunger strikes are also a part of this resistance. The mainstream media has not showed the hunger strikes as before. This shows that the press is currently under the state power. We are the voice of the hunger strikers and make their voices to be heard through the free press.”

 

"Hunger strikes will be the beginning of a new process"

 

Reminding the hunger strike started by Leyla Güven in 2018, Hacer Karaoğlan said that hunger strikes are a legacy and they are in a structure that inherits this legacy. Adding that the hunger strikes aim to break the isolation, Hacer said, “The hunger strikes will be the beginning of a new process. We have seen this in previous actions. We hope that the action will achieve its goal as soon as possible. I congratulate the hunger strikers for their action. In addition, I call on all international NGOs to be sensitive about hunger strikes and on the government to take a step as soon as possible.”