The indefinite-irreversible hunger strike launched in Amed with the demand for immediate contact with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan continues on its third day in the DBP Amed Province Headquarters. HDP MPs in the hunger strike have announced that they will continue their resistance until a meeting is held on İmralı.

ÖCALAN: THIS PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY WANT!

Dilek Öcalan stated that concerns are at a maximum level especially since no news can be heard from Öcalan after the night of the coup attempt on July 15. Öcalan said: “We are holding this strong demonstration in this period where we are strongest. Our people’s support to this demonstration is a source of morale for all of us. For example, the noise demonstration held every evening at 20.00 by the people of Amed in support of the hunger strike is very meaningful and symbolizes an insistence on a solution. We have witnessed the organized and dignified stance of our people once again.”

Öcalan mentioned the importance of a meeting in İmralı for an urgent turn of events for Turkey and said, “Turkey will suffer more losses if there isn’t a meeting with İmralı.” Stating that they have the power to stop the incidents, Öcalan continued: “We will continue our unilateral solution-oriented efforts, and we will keep pushing if the response is insolubility still. There have been innumerous calls for peace and solution from the Kurdish people’s front. But these were refused by a single person’s views and thoughts. We must underline that, if the people want something, they will get it, and we will continue this resistance until the end.”

IRMAK: ÖCALAN’S HEALTH IS DECISIVE FOR SEVERAL ISSUES

Selma Irmak also stated that millions of people were concerned about Öcalan’s health and safety. Irmak called out to the government insisting on the isolation and said: “Mr. Öcalan is a leader who represents millions. Naturally, Mr. Öcalan’s health, his conditions, the government’s communication with him is decisive for several issues. The government tries to increase the tension and build their politics from there. We see that the people’s demand to hear from Öcalan is on the rise, and have decided to launch such an action as the voice of the people.”

Irmak spoke about the Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ’s comments on Öcalan and said that statement didn’t satisfy them at all, and wouldn’t be heeded. Irmak said they will end the hunger strike right away if the government sends a committee to the İmralı Island right now, but that otherwise they will continue their demonstration until they have results. Irmak said: “The country has been under tension for a long time. How many people have been killed, how many cities have been destroyed since April 5, 2015? The state is in a mess right now, it doesn’t have an army and it doesn’t have a parliament. We are en route to a dictatorship regime. We need to ask why and by whose hands we have found ourselves in this situation. Thus, Mr. Öcalan’s health becomes an expression of all this chaos.”

ENCÜ: WE WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE END

Ferhat Encü said they relayed to the Turkish state numerous times that they were concerned for Öcalan’s health but haven’t received a satisfactory answer. Encü said the state was stalling them, and that they wouldn’t be satisfied until a political committee met with Öcalan. Encü pointed out that they will not back down from their demonstration and said: “We will continue until our action gets results and reaches its primary goal. Our demonstration is based on a legitimate and legal demand. To realize this demand, meetings must be held. Pressure needs to be exerted on the AKP government and our people need to join this demonstration and further this struggle.”