A press conference was held at the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) office in Hewlêr (Erbil) with the participation of KNK Co-Chair Zeyneb Murad, Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MPs and foreign guests from abroad to draw attention to the dangers facing the Kurds and the peoples of Kurdistan. The group called for action for a solution to the Kurdish question. 

Attacks against the Kurdish people

KNK Co-Chair Zeyneb Murad said: "The chaos and tension in the region is deepening day by day. The war and chaos in the region are negatively affecting the Kurds and the people in Bakur (North), Rojava (West), Rojhilat (East) and Bashur (South) Kurdistan. These developments also pose a great risk to the status of Southern Kurdistan."

Pointing to the attacks of Iran and Turkey, Zeyneb Murad said, "The attacks of Iran and Turkey against Southern Kurdistan jeopardize the gains of the Kurdish people. If a solution is not developed within the framework of the legitimate and just cause of the Kurdish people, the attacks of neighboring countries against the Kurdish people will continue."

‘If Abdullah Öcalan is freed, attacks will end’

Stating that the aim of the Turkish state's attacks is to finish the Kurdish people off, Zeyneb Murad said: "The Turkish state wants to destroy the gains of Southern Kurdistan and start a civil war. For this reason, Kurds should make efforts to start a resolution process."

Zeynep Murad continued: "Abdullah Öcalan's freedom will be the basis for a peaceful solution to the legitimate cause of the Kurdish people. If Mr. Öcalan is freed, there will be no excuse for the Turkish state's operations and the attacks of the Turkish state against the Kurdish people will end. Therefore, media organizations must play their role for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan."

The KNK Co-Chair concluded: "The reason for the absolute isolation imposed on Mr. Öcalan is the insistence on the lack of a solution to the Kurdish question. Therefore, political parties and personalities in Southern Kurdistan must take a stance against the isolation of Öcalan in Imrali."

‘Imrali has become a center of oppression and intimidation’

Ugmandur Yunasun, former Minister of Justice of Iceland, said: "We know that the Turkish state has arrested thousands of politicians and civil society activists. Above all, Mr. Öcalan has been imprisoned in İmralı for 25 years. Imrali Prison has become a center of oppression and intimidation for patriots. The Turkish state's aggression on Rojava continues. Turkey wants to create unrest in the Kurdistan region. Mr. Öcalan has always worked for a lasting peace and an end to the war. For this reason, Kurds in the four parts of Kurdistan should unite and fight against oppression."

Yunasun stated that they will make efforts to show the attacks of Turkey and Iran against the Kurdish people to European countries and the European Parliament.