DEM Party MP for Istanbul Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar (also Co-Chair of Democratic Regions Party), MP for Istanbul Cengiz Çiçek (also Co-Speaker of the Peoples’ Democratic Congress) and MP for Batman Keskin Bayındır (also Co-Chair of Democratic Regions Party) wrote an open letter to the international community to explain why they are taking part to the Great Freedom March, that started on 1 February. 

The march is voicing the demand for "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Democratic Solution to the Kurdish Question" and urging the government to implement solution policies.

The letter said: "As Kurdish, Turkish, Arab, Assyrian, Sunni and Alevi MPs elected by hundreds of thousands of voters and activists working in human rights organizations in Turkey, we started the "Great Freedom March" in two cities of Turkey on February 1, 2024.

Since February 1, we have been marching district by district and province by province voicing our demand for "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Democratic Solution to the Kurdish Issue" and urging the government to implement solution policies. In every village, district and province we visit, tens of thousands of people welcome us and support our demands."

The letter continued: "A hundred years ago, the homeland of the Kurds, an ancient people of the Middle East, was divided between four nation-states. Instead of recognizing their rights, the nation-states in the region chose to deny them. However, the Kurdish people continue their legitimate struggle to achieve official recognition based on the fundamental rights in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey as well.

Nevertheless, more needs to be done to solve the Kurdish Question in Turkey. We believe that ensuring the physical freedom of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan is necessary for a solution. That’s why we aim to make our voices heard by the government in Turkey, the states and peoples of the region and the world through the Great Freedom March."   

The letter added: "The key to solving the Kurdish Issue in Turkey lies with Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. His Democratic Nation, Democratic Autonomy, Democratic Confederalism and Democratic Republic theses offer a powerful solution to the xenophobic, authoritarian and populist politics that permeate the world as well as ethnic and religious discrimination in the Middle East. Unfortunately, Mr. Öcalan has been kept in absolute isolation since 2015 to prevent his ideas from being heard.

The nation-state system promoted in the Middle East has only brought instability due to the region’s multi-identity structure. This understanding has fueled the rise of radicalism, which now poses a global security threat.  Solving the Kurdish issue is not just a concern for Turkey and the Kurdish geography, but also for the Middle East and the world. In fact, the world cannot become a safer place without achieving peace and stability in the Middle East."

The three MPs said: "We must not forget that the Kurds, who strongly embrace Mr. Öcalan's ideas, achieved a great victory against ISIS in Kobane and Syria. If we take a moment to imagine that ISIS was not defeated in Kobane in 2014, we will realize how much the people of the world owe to the Kurdish people.

It is the historical responsibility of all countries, especially Western countries, to defend the Kurdish people, whose status and identity have been disregarded by the nation-states in the region for a hundred years, and to develop policies for the freedom of Mr. Öcalan and the solution of the Kurdish issue. Therefore, we call on all the peoples of the world and political forces to stand in solidarity with the Kurdish people."