50 Volunteers Begin Hunger Strike for Öcalan

Click to read the article in Turkish/Kurdish

50 volunteers including politicians and artists have begun a hunger strike without rotation, demanding a meeting with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has not been heard from since April 5, 2015.

A press statement announcing the hunger strike was released  by The Democratic Society Congress (DTK), People’s Democratic Congress (HDK), Free Women’s Congress (Kongreya Jinên Azad/KJA), Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on August 31.

The DBP Diyarbakır Provincial Organization building was surrounded by police ahead of the statement.

A great number of Anti-Riot Vehicles (TOMA) and riot squad forces were deployed around the building.

An indefinite hunger strike without rotation

According to reports by the Evrensel daily and Jin News Agency (JİNHA), DBP Co-Chair Sebahat Tuncel said:

“Despite the fact that 52 days have passed since the July 15 coup attempt and that it has become certain that the coup plotters plotted physical action on İmralı island [where Öcalan is being held], we are yet to acquire any objective information as to Öcalan’s medical condition and his safety.

“As we stated in our August 31 declaration, no one can expect us to put up with this unlawful and immoral practice against Öcalan.

“All of our political, legal, diplomatic and humanitarian efforts that we have been sustaining for 510 days have been frustrated by the government. Thus, we have initiated a new process until a face-to-face meeting is provided between Öcalan and his attorneys, family members or a political delegation of ours.

“Within this framework 50 of our friends will begin an indefinite hunger strike as of September 5. The only demand of this hunger strike is that a meeting be arranged with Öcalan within the legal rules”.

The hunger strikers are:

Nadir Yıldırım, Selma Irmak, Berdan Öztürk, Dilek Öcalan, Ferhat Encü, Ebru Günay, Cengiz Çiçek, Sebahat Tuncel, Gülcihan Şimşek, Zeynel Mat, Mehmet Candemir, Uğur Bayrak, Zeki Baran, Murat Döner, Leyla Güven, Hasip Yalnıç, Zeynep Karaman, Ceylan Bağrıyanık, Berfin Emektar, İbrahim Halil Yıldırım, Nazım Hikmet Çalışkan, Abdullah Tarhan, Zeynel Doğan, İslam Dağdeviren, Bekir Kaya, Mehmet Ali Tunç, Beritan Tayan, Bayram Demir, Berivan Özlem Kutlu, Yıldız Çetin, Rukiye Eryılmaz, Hasan Güngör, Zelal Abiş Birtane, Hayrettin Satar, Hüseyin Çelik, Necmi Dilmaç, Bayram Akman, Abdulkadir Çalışkan, Siyamend Yaruk, Arif Akkaya, Abbas Ercan, Arzu Karaman, Elif Haram, Semra Karaduman, Talat Emre, Rıfat Roni, Sinan Ekinci, Nalan Göze, Yusuf Ziya Yavuz, Yusuf Sökmen. (HY/EKN/TK)