Thousands of people gathered in Amed for the demonstration ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a solution to the Kurdish question’ despite the preventions.

Speaking at the demonstration, Tuncer Bakırhan, Co-Chair of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), reacted against pressure and preventions.

Bakırhan condemned the frequent interruptions of politicians by the police and said: “The scene we have encountered today is a scene that has turned the tables on those who said ‘we will ensure peace in Turkey’."

Bakırhan pointed out that: “Peace in Turkey cannot be achieved in this way. Peace in Turkey cannot be ensured by a civil servant cutting off the voice of our Co-Chair. I call out to him, do your job. There are prosecutors in this country. You are not our interlocutor. Do not interfere with my speech from there. Do not provoke the atmosphere. Tens of thousands of people from all over Turkey hit the road to condemn the conspiracy and isolation. They tried to come to Amed. Think about where this country has reached with this conspiracy and isolation.”

DEM Party Co-Chair said: “You imposed isolation, you locked İmralı. The economy has collapsed, society has decayed, social tensions have reached the highest level. If the conspiracy and isolation had been successful, tens of thousands would not have mobilised here today. Your policy is bankrupt, accept it. Turkey is in a serious jam.”

Bakırhan continued: “We speak both in the parliament and here. We will continue to speak the same things we said in the parliament. This conspiracy system is a method applied by international powers to confront the Turkish and Kurdish people. This conspiracy came to naught in İmralı. İmralı foiled this conspiracy for the historical Kurdish and Turkish people to live together, to live in a democratic republic. By locking the doors of İmralı, you are harming the democracy of the country. You have thrown away millions of people in this country for isolation, so that ‘Kurds do not speak their mother tongue’. Let us hear the voice of Mr Öcalan who advocates for us to live together in peace and democracy. Mr Öcalan is the Kurdish people's hope for peace. You cannot keep Mr Öcalan in a cell, you cannot force him into a room.

One address for social peace is İmralı. The other address is the Parliament. Open the doors of İmralı. We will continue to stand against these conspiracy and isolation policies. The hand of peace extended by Mr Öcalan is the hope of this country. From here, I also appeal to the Parliament; the Parliament can no longer consider this problem as a security issue. Enough is enough. If we want young people to find work, if we want them to be fed where they live, if we want them not to lose their lives, if we do not want the war in the Middle East to spread, we must ensure that the Kurdish issue is resolved together with the interlocutors. The DEM Party is ready for this.

This peace cannot be achieved through isolation policies. Not with the lock on İmralı. We call for peace in Turkey despite all the costs, pain and persecution. We say we should not look for a solution at international doors. In the recent local elections, the people said ‘no’ to the isolation policy.”