ANKARA - DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları stated that the "Great Freedom March" will be started from Qers and Wan on February 1.

 

People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları made evaluations about the agenda at her party's Parliamentary Women's Group meeting. Mothers holding the Justice Watch, members of the Mothers for Peace Initiative and Saturday Mothers also attended the meeting to support the actions initiated to demand the physical freedom of PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan. Mothers wearing white scarves carried banners saying "Isolation is a crime against humanity" and "Speak out to the hunger strikes".

 

THE CHURCH ATTACK

 

Hatimoğulları condemned the attack on the Santa Maria Catholic Church and said: “We consider a bullet or a flick shot at you as a shot against us. We will never allow our comrades of different peoples and beliefs here to be targeted by dark forces such as ISIS. We are with our Catholic people and our Christian people. Unfortunately, the government responds to the Kurds demand for dignity and peace with guns, tanks, cannons, UCAVs and UAVs. However, the Kurds’ demand is an honorable peace. The absolute isolation of Mr. Ocalan has been continue for years. To protest this situation, political prisoners in prisons started a hunger strike. In support of this hunger strike, mothers all over Turkey and Kurdistan are on Justice Watch. On the one hand, they continue their hunger strikes, and on the other hand, the mothers continue their Justice Watch together. Their demands, just like their children and comrades who are held in prison and political hostages, are for the Kurdish issue to be resolved through peaceful and democratic methods, the end of the absolute isolation and physical freedom of Mr. Ocalan.”

 

CALL TO FREEDOM MARCH

 

Hatimoğulları touched upon the "Great Freedom March" to be held between 1-15 February, with the demands of political parties and democratic mass organizations to abolish the Imralı isolation and ensure the freedom of Abdullah Ocalan for the solution of the Kurdish issue. Hatimoğulları said: "The Great Freedom March, which will start in two branches from Kars and Van on February 1, will continue until February 15. So, what is the purpose of this march? The purpose of this march is the same as the hunger strikes and justice watch that started in prisons. The end of the Imralı isolation and the resolution of the Kurdish issue through peaceful and democratic methods. And of course, every stop in this march is a meeting with women, workers and laborers in various places in our areas. This march will take place from a place that connects all the issues in Turkey with the Kurdish issue. As DEM Party, we will also take our place in this march. But not only the DEM Party, but also intellectuals, writers and representatives of the forces that want democracy in this country will accompany us.”

 

'DIALOGUE PROCESS MUST START'

 

Reacting to the isolation of the PKK Leader, Hatimoğulları stated that the isolation was a "crime against humanity". Hatimoğulları continued as follows: “We, as the DEM Party, hereby reiterate our call as a party of dialogue and negotiation. 84 million of our citizens in Turkey are affected by this war and conflict environment. They put into effect the subversion plan to bring the Kurds to their knees. This plan did not work in four parts of Kurdistan, Rojava and Turkey. The Kurds, not kneeling down, have entered into an organization strong enough to make their voices heard all over the world in four parts of Kurdistan. You cannot break this resistance this way.

 

THE WAR SPREADS

 

Russia Ukraine war, Israel Palestine, Syria, Rojava, Iraq, Federated Kurdistan, Iran, Pakistan are a mess. The guns of the ships positioned in the Red Sea are literally turned towards the people. Let's all pay close attention to what I underlined here. The war is in a tendency to expand. Our entire region is seriously facing war. Turkey is never free from this equation. That's why we say, let's solve the Kurdish issue, so that we can resist this atmosphere of war against the outside world, together as the people of Turkey, in solidarity, within a social integrity. Look, if we do not exist together, we will be defeated together in the face of global attacks. Let's pay attention to this sentence together.

 

I especially appeal to the ruling party. I want them to understand what we say well. I repeat this sentence. If we do not exist together, we will be defeated together in the face of global attacks. The voice of democracy will rise from prisons, from the Justice Watch, from the Great Freedom March. The demand for peace will rise. Let's listen to these demands together as Turks, Arabs, Armenians, Laz, Circassians, Popmaks and all the peoples and beliefs that I cannot list here.

 

TO TURKISH WOMEN: LET'S SOLVE THE ISSUE TOGETHER HAND IN HAND

 

I would like to address Turkish women from here; Kurd mothers extend their hand of peace to you. They say, 'Let's solve the Kurdish issue by working together.' They say, 'We, as Kurd and Turkish women, can solve the suffering together.' If we, as women, join hands, we can put aside this hostility towards Kurds that has been forced upon us. We can establish peace together by holding hands with Turkish women, Kurd women, Arab women and women from all different peoples in this country. Let us, as women, be more determined and more willful about peace. Let's bury the weapons in the ground together. Let the tree of peace rise in the lands of Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Let's say peace together.

 

DEM PARTY IS MESOPOTAMIA

 

When introducing candidates, our indispensable employees, which is of course our tradition, are the original work of the women's council. It is the originality of our women's work. The women were colorfully dressed. Each of them reflected its own tradition. This is what DEM Party means. When you look at that photo, DEM party will see that it is Anatolia, Mesopotamia and Turkey. DEM Party is the only party that ensures gender equality in the political scene. DEM Party is the apple of the eye of this people, this country and most of all women."