The Free Women's Movement (TJA) organized a march in Van under the slogan “Women are marching to freedom”. The police attacked the demonstration and detained many women by use of violence.

Following the police attack, hundreds of women partaking in the demonstration gathered in front of the DBP (Democratic Regions Party) provincial office.

Speaking here, DBP Co-Chair Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar condemned the police attack and said, “Did Turkey become divided because we marched and chanted slogans? Was the country divided when Kurdish people and women staged a march and expressed their demands? It is you who are dividing this country. As women, we will say it everywhere; as long as there is no democracy in this country, everyone will be subjected to the same violence. We don't want democracy just for ourselves. We don't want a life in equal conditions only for ourselves. This country is rotting under the monopoly of fascism. Politics is rotting under this government.”

Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar spoke about the upcoming anniversary of the February 15 international conspiracy which resulted in the capture of the Kurdish people’s leader, Abdullah Öcalan, in Kenya and his handover to Turkey in 1999. The Kurdish leader, who is held in aggravated isolation in İmralı Island Prison, is expected to issue a call on this year’s anniversary of the international conspiracy.

Calling February 15 “a black day”, Uçar stated: “At the dawn of new discussions, we want to define February 15 not as a black day, but as a day when freedom will be declared, and we want to live freely afterward. Who is producing solutions for the future of this country in a 12 square meter space? This is exactly what the Kurdish People's Leader, Mr. Öcalan, is doing. As women, we will be the driving force of the perspective for peace and a democratic solution. We will be in action on the streets in spite of all obstacles. We will fight the mentality that murdered Rojin Kabaiş and Narin Güran, the mentality that did not find Gülistan Doku. We will fight like Sakine Cansız did. We will be Nagihan Akarsel's pen and Cihan Bilgin's camera. We will carry out this struggle with the memory of the lives we lost. No one should be afraid of a new process seeking a solution. Don't be afraid of democratic discussions but embrace them. Is there a more honorable task in this country than embracing a democratic solution, an honorable peace? Is there anything more honorable than talking about a solution? There is not... Because there is hope, peace and common life there. Our people who do not leave the streets against the trustee regime, who raise their voices against the isolation regime, are a hope for Turkey. Women will be the carriers of democracy in a new Turkey. Women will be the yeast of a democratic nation. It was not hundreds of women you tried to prevent today, but the hope for a democratic Turkey. We will grow this hope. Despite all your obstructions and male-state violence, women will continue to carry this hope into the future. The resistance of the people and women in Van has already made history. Your violence has not been and will not be able to prevent us. We set out to build a new Turkey and a common life. Block us if you can. Our power cannot be blocked.”