PKK calls for urgent action for Ibrahim Gökçek

"We once again express our condolences to the families and friends of Helin Bölek and Mustafa Koçak, promising that we will keep their memories alive in our struggle for democracy and freedom with the destruction of the fascist regime."

The Culture and Art Committee of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) issued a written statement and called for urgent action for Ibrahim Gökçek, member of Grup Yorum on death fast. The Committee called for uprising before coffins are coming out of the prisons.

The PKK Culture and Art Committee statement said: "The revolutionary artists of the people, from Pir Sultan to Victor Jara, from Gurbet Aydın to Hozan Serhat, defended the dignity of humanity with their resistance. Grup Yorum artist Helin Bölek, a follower of this tradition, fell martyr as a result of a death fast. So did Mustafa Koçak.

The death fast carried out by valuable artist Ibrahim Gökçek is ignored. We call everyone to take urgent action for Ibrahim Gökçek, who says that he is determined to continue his action.

Those who resist inside and outside should not be left alone, and pressure should be put on the government to accept their demands in order to avoid new martyrs. In today's conditions, there are various methods to do this as resistance is possible under any circumstances."

The statement continued: "Political parties and representatives of civil society organizations should attempt to get results and all artists should act immediately. Although the calls we have made until today have found a certain response in the society and among artists, today their voices need to be much stronger given the global virus attack environment we are facing with.

It should also be seen that the regime, which turns the virus into an opportunity and escalates its military attacks and all kinds of dirty actions, uses the virus directly as a mean of biological, ideological and psychological attack, and this process must be met with great resistance."

The PKK Art and Culture Commission said: "Every day action must be taken to release all political hostages in the prisons. A massacre is on our door step! You must stand up before the coffins begin to come out from jails.

Houses, balconies, windows and streets should be used as platforms for the actions. Artists must participate in these actions with their art. Everywhere should be turned into action area until results are obtained.

Ibrahim Gökçek must live, and all insurgents must be protected.

We once again express our condolences to the families and friends of Helin Bölek and Mustafa Koçak, promising that we will keep their memories in our struggle for democracy and freedom with the destruction of the fascist regime."