Under the leadership of the Democratic Institutions Platform, a ‘March for a Democratic Solution and Freedom’ is taking place from Amed (Diyarbakır) to Ankara within the scope of the ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a political solution to the Kurdish question’ campaign.

Before the launch of the march, people gathered at the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Amed Provincial Organisation. DBP co-chairs Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar and Keskin Bayındır, Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-chair Berdan Öztürk, Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) MYK (Central Executive Board) member Orhan Çelebi, Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) provincial and district organisations, Peace Mothers, Free Women's Movement (TJA) members, district co-mayors, MPs and many representatives of civil society organisations participated in the march.

The delegation of the march to Ankara wore aprons with the inscription ‘March for a Democratic Solution and Freedom’ in Kurdish and Turkish. Prevented by the police from marching to the Şex Sêid (Dağkapı) Square, the demonstrators launched the march after a press statement.

Speaking here, DBP Co-Chair Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar thanked the people of Amed for defending Rojava despite the police obstruction and said, “They are so helpless that they are working with mercenaries in Syria and Rojava and threatening us here. We are here for “a democratic solution and freedom”. Even if you don't see or hear, there are Kurds in this country. There is a Kurdish issue in this country, there is a resisting Kurdish people. That is why we are here, that is why we raise our voices.”

Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar pointed out that a new Sharia order is intended to be established in Syria by the NATO and Turkey proxy and said: “HTS is the most illegitimate force against the Kurdish struggle. The most legitimate power since 2011 is the Rojava administration. While you were trying to design Rojava with a war and mercenaries with unpredictable actions, a new formation took place with the idea of Mr Öcalan. It is Turkey, the HTS and the SNA that have lost their legitimacy in the face of this formation. There is a will that does not give up on freedom. This will says that Mr Abdullah Öcalan, whom you subject to isolation, must be free.”

Pointing out that Öcalan must be freed in accordance with Turkey's domestic law, Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar said: “Mr Öcalan must be free because millions of people stand behind him. He must be free because he defends peace and a democratic solution against the war that is growing everywhere. You are obsessed with legitimacy, you call the values of the Kurdish people ‘terror’, but that is not the case. Millions did not give up this will. Millions have continued to speak out and struggle against isolation for 26 years. You cannot ignore this. Turkey is trying to destroy the dynamics formed there with the help of mercenaries. Imagine a country attacking outside its own country as if invading it. You cannot distinguish between the Kurds in Rojava and the Kurds in Turkey. That is why we are here. We will continue to embrace Rojava and defend it.       

The Middle East has seen massacres, wars and dictators for years. But today it is those who resist that are being talked about. While some people take a milk bath in luxurious castles, people cannot buy milk. You cannot close your eyes to the rising voice for democracy in Turkey in Rojava. All democratic dynamics are on their feet. The Kurdish people's right to status is the most legitimate right. The Kurdish people's right to resistance is the most legitimate right. That is why we are here.

Intellectuals in Istanbul made a call and said that a democratic solution to the Kurdish question is possible and that the issue is too historical to be left to the state. We are calling out to all peoples and dynamics in Turkey. The day is not the day to wait, the day is not the day to leave our history to the gangs. It is the day to embrace the resistance of the Rojava people. We need to raise a voice for an honourable peace. Today in Amed, tomorrow in Urfa, Antep, Adana, Mersin and Ankara, we will continue to speak these words. This march seeks to establish peace led by Mr Öcalan. It is the struggle for the women resisting the ISIS gang and its successors. It is the voice of the massacred Kurds, Yazidis and Armenians. We have been reviewing a hundred years of denial, assimilation, ignoring, massacre and genocide, and the state must do the same. The nation state is not the solution. We call on everyone to be a partner in this struggle to build the new. You have come to the end of the road. Those who rely on the SNA and the gangs there should turn to the struggle of the Kurdish people. 

There is a special will for all peoples there. When Mr Öcalan was waging his struggle, there were gaps in the Middle East for the Kurdish people. We set out to fill these gaps. That gap was filled in Rojava. We wage a struggle, believing that a democratic solution is possible, that Mr Öcalan's freedom is the most important step towards a democratic solution, and that an honourable peace must be established. This struggle will stand everywhere. We have made a promise to women, to those who have given their lives to the Kurdish struggle, to those who have lost their children. What this country deserves is honourable peace. We will continue to march until peace is achieved and Mr Öcalan is free.”

After the statement, participants of the march to Ankara were sent off with applause and cheers.