NEWS CENTER - L'Humanité newspaper in France carried the declaration titled "Kurdistan: the solution is political!", prepared by 61 names and collectives, in its headline.

 

L'Humanité newspaper carried PKK Leader Ocalan, who is held in isolation, and prisoner politician Demirtaş, with the headline "Kurdistan: under fire and chained" in its headline. The newspaper also shared the statement signed by activists in France titled 'Kurdistan: the solution is political!'

 

French newspaper L'Humanité featured PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is held in absolute isolation in Imralı Type F High Security Prison and Selahattin Demirtaş, the imprisoned former Co-Chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), in its headline. The headline titled "Kurdistan: Under fire and chained" included the text titled "Kurdistan: the solution is political!", signed by many activists and institutions.

 

'OCALAN IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN END THE ISSUE’

 

The text stated: "A new year begins. And it begins badly in Kurdistan: From the depths of prisons in Turkey and Bakur, prisoners  shout out for justice after the Turkish state continues to bomb Rojava in international silence. From 27 November 2023 ongoing mass hunger strike has mobilized thousands of prisoners in nearly a hundred prisons, once again calling for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, one of the founders of the PKK, who has been held in isolation since 1999.

 

Because Ocalan, just like Nelson Mandela, who was branded as a 'terrorist' by the apartheid regime, is the only person who can put an end to the 'Kurdish  issue in Turkey. The autonomist leader calls for a just and peaceful solution that has been negotiated for decades, repeats that the weapons will be delivered through international mediation. Peace negotiatons were launched in 2013, but were trampled two years later by Erdogan, a false defender of the Palestinians and a real oppressor of the minorities living under his control.              

 

Kurd prisoners call for international solidarity. Their voices must be heard everywhere; Their voices must be transmitted everywhere. Western countries maintain economic and military relations with the Turkish state, a leading member of NATO. Every citizen has the right to say in his own government's foreign policy. Every promise is binding. So is every silence.

 

Selahattin Demirtaş, writer and former co-chair of Turkey's main democratic left group HDP, has been defending his case before judges since December 2023. Demirtaş, who was arrested in 2016, faces up to 142 years in prison. Demirtaş says the following today: 'What we call honorable peace is a peace environment where Turks, Kurds, Alevis and Sunnis live freely. […] The Turkish state is judging us for racist and nationalist purposes just because we are Kurds. We are being tried because we do not submit to Turkish racist ideology and theses. We are being tried for saying that Kurdistan is our homeland, you cannot invade or destroy Kurdistan. In this hall, they want to condemn the reality of Kurds and Kurdistan in our person.'

 

Sebahat Tuncel, a former HDP MP who has been arrested since 2016, also adds: 'There is the option of unity, friendship and living together. However, this option is systematically rejected by the Turkish government, which is allied with the openly fascist MHP movement.’

 

As we know, conflicts can only be resolved by political means. Oppression, discrimination, massacres and imprisonments never last forever. As soon as a people is subjugated, it resists: history proves this. The oppressed resisted in India, Vietnam, Algeria and South Africa and eventually gained their freedom. One day, the Kurds will also gain their freedom. They are now defending democracy against autocracy and militant nationalism. Let's support them from our lands. Let's not leave the prisoners in the shadows.

 

Let's listen to Abdullah Ocalan.

 

Let's listen to Selahattin Demirtaş.

 

Let's listen to Sebahat Tuncel.

 

Let's listen to Ayşe Gökkan, the former mayor and Kurd woman activist from TJA, who was arrested approximately 80 times and has been held since 2021. Let's listen to former HDP Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ, who is imprisoned since 2016.

 

Let's listen to former co-mayor Gültan Kışanak, who was tortured in the 1980s and has been held captive since 2016.

 

Let's listen to singer Nudem Durak, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for defending the rights and culture of her people through her art. Let's listen to singer Erkan Beli, who was tortured and sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

Let's listen to journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu, Co-President of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), who has been in prison since May 2023.

 

Let's listen to journalist Ziya Ataman from Dicle News Agency (DİHA), who wants 'their situation in prison to be known to the public'. Let's listen to Nedime Yaklav, who is still in prison despite completing her prison sentence of more than 30 years.

 

Again, let's listen to Mustafa Murat Perişan, who has been held for more than 30 years and is still held hostage because he refused to sign the 'regret' statement.

 

Let's listen to Selver Yıldırım and Abdulalim Kaya, who were arrested despite their serious illnesses.

 

The list goes on and on. Let's listen. And as French citizens, let us demand:

 

* Ending commercial partnerships and military cooperation with the Turkish state,

 

* Removal of PKK from the list of 'terrorist organizations',

 

* Ending police and judicial cooperation with the Turkish state through Interpol,

 

* Removal of defense secrecy in the case of the murder of three Kurdish women who were murdered in Paris in January 2013."

 

SIGNERS

 

Those who signed the text are as follows:

 

* Nadège Abomangoli - Member of Parliament

 

* Arié Alimi - Lawyer, writer and member of the League for Human Rights (LDH)

 

* Hakim Amokrane - Singer, co-founder of Zebda

 

* Mustapha Amokrane - Singer, co-founder of Zebda

 

* Joseph Andras - Author (Goncourt Prize)

 

* Ludivine Bantigny - Historian

 

* Miguel Benasayag - Philosopher and psychoanalyst

 

* Olivier Besancenot - Former presidential candidate

 

* Rachida Brakni - Actress and filmmaker

 

* Rony Brauman - Doctor and essayist

 

* Éric Cantona - Actor, singer and former football player

 

* Carmen Castillo - Filmmaker

 

*Patrick Chamoiseau - Author

 

* Laurence Cohen - Honorary senator

 

* Éric Coquerel - Member of Parliament

 

* Leyla Dakhli - Historian

 

* Hendrik Davi - Member of Parliament

 

* Alice Diop - Filmmaker

 

* Sébastien Delogu - Member of Parliament

 

* Rokhaya Diallo - Writer and filmmaker

 

* Éric Fassin - Sociologist

 

* Elsa Faucillon - Member of Parliament

 

* Robert Guédiguian - Film producer (European Film Awards)

 

* Nadia Yala Kisukidi - Philosopher

 

* Anouche Kunth - Historian

 

* Adèle Haenel - Actress (César Award for Best Actress)

 

* Kaoutar Harchi - Writer and sociologist

 

* Andy Kerbrat - Member of Parliament

 

* Pierre Laurent - Honorary senator and former vice president of the Senate

 

* Jean-Paul Lecoq - Member of Parliament and local councilor

 

* Frédéric Lordon - Philosopher and economist

 

* Michael Löwy - Sociologist

 

* Maryam Madjidi - Writer (Goncourt Prize)

 

* Chowra Makaremi -  anthropologist and filmmaker

 

* Carlos Martens Bilongo - Member of Parliament

 

* Edgar Morin - Sociologist and philosopher (Unesco gold medal)

 

* Aline Pailler - Journalist

 

* Ernest Pignon-Ernest - Visual artist

 

* Philippe Poutou - Former presidential candidate

 

* Anne Querrien - Sociologist and urban planner

 

* Rocé - Rapper

 

* Pınar Selek - Sociologist and writer

 

* Danielle Simonnet - Member of Parliament

 

* Pierre Tevanian - Philosopher

 

* Ana Tijoux - Rapper and singer

 

* Laetitia Tura - Film director

 

* Françoise Vergès - Political scientist and essayist

 

* Gisèle Vienne - Director and choreographer

 

* Abdourahman Waberi - Author

 

* Malik Zidi - Actor and writer 

 

 

collectives

 

* Transnational Feminist Meeting

 

* France-Kurdistan Association

 

* Kurdish Democratic Council (CDK-F) in France

 

* Revolutionary Feminists Paris

 

* Ecosocialist Left

 

* Lesbians against patriarchy

 

* Popular and Social Ecology

 

* Serhildan Internationalist Network

 

* Libertarian Communist League (UCL)

 

* Solidaires Union

 

* West Asia North Africa (WANA)