There has been no news from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is held in severe isolation conditions in İmralı Type F High Security Prison, for 33 months. Prisoners in prisons began a rotating hunger strike on November 27 as part of the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, solution to the Kurdish issue" campaign against the lack of news from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. While the hunger strikes continue on their 19th day, the families of the prisoners, who state that their demands are their demands, are calling on the competent authorities.

 

Necla Yıldız, one of the prisoners who participated in the hunger strike, was arrested in May 2016, while she was a university student in Konya, based on the statements of open and secret witnesses. Yıldız, who was sentenced to 9 years in prison for "being a member of a terrorist organization" in December 2017, is being held in Sincan Women's Closed Prison. Although Yıldız completed the sentence in February 2023, his release was postponed by the Administrative Observation Board, which he appeared on 3 times.

 

In the telephone conversation with his family, Yıldız stated that they started the hunger strike with the demands of the ongoing isolation of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the solution of the Kurdish issue, and that they will continue their actions until their demands are met. Yıldız's older brother, Kamber Yıldız (34), said that the public should embrace the action initiated in prisons.

 

Stating that they are worried about their relatives who started the hunger strike, Yıldız said: “My brother stated that they do not accept the ongoing isolation in İmralı Prison and that they will continue their actions until the isolation ends; likewise, similar isolation policies are implemented in other prisons and prisoners are punished for arbitrary reasons. We, as a family, are also worried." 

 

'SPECIAL POLICIES ARE APPLIED'

 

Stating that his brother was not released on arbitrary grounds because he had participated in hunger strikes before, Yıldız continued as follows: “Although my brother's sentence has ended, he has been held in prison for a year for arbitrary reasons. My brother told us that other prisoners were not released for arbitrary reasons. In 2020-21, he went on hunger strike against the pressure and lawlessness in prisons. During that period, the prison administration gave punishment using the hunger strike actions as an excuse. This is why his sentence was extended. There is an ongoing Supreme Court trial due to hunger strikes. Due to the distance, we cannot visit him regularly. About two months ago, he was banned from speaking on the phone. A special policy similar to the 1980 process is implemented in Sincan Prison."

 

'THE LEADER OF MILLIONS CANNOT BE CAPTURED'

 

Emphasizing that the Kurdish people should support the hunger strike actions launched in prisons, Yıldız said: “The Kurdish people have historically been a resistant people. They are people who constantly resist. For this reason, the Kurdish people need to support these actions and show solidarity with the prisoners. The public needs to stand together with the prisoners in prison and react everywhere. The state also needs to take steps against this. What the state must do is to meet the demands of the people. The leader of a people cannot be captured in this way. It is wrong to keep the leader of millions on an island and isolate him from his people. In order for this process to be resolved peacefully, the state must ensure law and justice. The Kurdish issue cannot be solved in a country where there is no justice and democracy is not developed."

 

'ISOLATION DEEPENS THE KURDISH ISSUE'

 

Stating that the isolation practice deepened the deadlock in the Kurdish issue, Yıldız reminded the practices against Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Yıldız said: “He was also held captive in isolation conditions in prison for a long time; however, it later became clear that prisons were not the solution to the issues. Isolating a person whom millions call a leader on arbitrary grounds will deepen the existing issue. Abdullah Öcalan is not just a person, he is the reality of the Kurdish people. At this point, what the state needs to do is to establish a dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan for the solution of the Kurdish issue. He has stated many times that this issue will be solved through dialogue, not war. War and isolation policies also cause great harm to the state. The solution process needs to continue again. The addressee of this is Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan. This is how hunger strikes end." 

 

' ABDULLAH ÖCALAN IS AN OPPORTUNITY'

 

Stating that PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan is the solution to both the Kurdish issue and the issues existing in the country, Yıldız said: “Communicating with Abdullah Öcalan is a great opportunity for the solution of the Kurdish issue. There is a reality and an interlocutor like Abdullah Öcalan. The state should not turn its face to this. The peace environment that will emerge in the country will be a more democratic and livable country with the solution of the Kurdish issue. The addressee is waisted. Abdullah Öcalan is the philosopher of the modern century. The state needs to take this fact into account and lift the isolation. He needs to put aside these policies of denial and no solution and take steps. Abdullah Öcalan is an interlocutor not only for the Kurdish problem, but for all problems in Turkey. As he said, the war and the problems we experience continue today because there is no interlocutor in the state."

 

MA / Mahmut Altıntaş