HDP Member Nasir Yagiz has been on an indefinite non-alternating hunger strike for 74 days. Yagiz said he will continue with resolve despite health issues. His mother Muazzez Yagiz said Nasir Yagiz’s situation is getting more critical and called for all to “hear this cry”.

We met Nasir Yagiz during the human shield protest against an operation in Batman’s rural Sason area in 2014. Back then the people voided a provocation by the Turkish state to end the negotiations with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan. We were held in the Sason Battalion Outpost alongside 87 human shield activists for 3 days so we wouldn’t let the public know about this peaceful protest. Nasir Yagiz was a detainee there, and had told us that peace can’t be isolated, or provoked with operations. It has been almost 5 years since. Nasir Yagiz is participating in the hunger strikes led by Leyla Guven to end the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan, and is on day 74 of his indefinite non-alternating hunger strike. “Believe that victory is near. Nothing can stand in the way of faith. The will that manifests through resistance gathered under faith will prevail. As long as our faith is clear, health issues are not important. There is no break in my morale yet. I won’t let my health issues break my resistance. With this understanding, the people will prevail.”

WE DERIVE STRENGTH FROM EACH OTHER

Yagiz talks with Leyla Guven and the hunger strikers in Strasbourg, Newport and Toronto. He said: “We are all responsible for each other. We derive strength and morale from each other. Comrades forget about their own issues and ask about my health, and they make me feel like they are here with me. I was saddened by comrade Kerem’s condition. But he honored our protest by not compromising his will despite the health issues he had. He refused treatment. Our stance against the isolation is clear. The spirit of the Kurdish people and our party manifested once again in this protest. Our ideology is built on these principles. The embrace and faith for Leader Apo has shown itself again this way.”

OUR PROTEST IS NOT ENOUGH

Yagiz pointed to Guven’s condition and said: “Her release from prison gave us morale. Yes, she is not entirely well. We both have good morale despite our health issues. I can sense victory now. I can see this with my body as it melts away. I have lost weight. My tonsils were inflamed today. The pain I go through physically gets me closer to this philosophy, to Leader Apo and to the people.” Yagiz said the democratic protests should be increased and added: “As far as I can see, our protests are not enough against the isolation.”

PARLIAMENT IS IGNORING THE HUNGER STRIKES

Yagiz had severe criticism for the Federal Kurdistan Government. Stating that the hunger strike is held in Hewler, Southern Kurdistan and not Germany, France or the UK, Yagiz said: “All Kurdish parties except for the KDP have embraced the protests. I don’t want the KDP to visit me. But the Kurdish Parliament hasn’t even said there is a Kurdish man on hunger strike, and they should maybe see what that is about! This approach shows how deep their relationship to the Turkish state goes.Two female MPs from Goran went in front of the parliament to say Leyla Guven is a Kurdish MP. We act with a national consciousness. We will achieve the Kurdish people’s unity.”

PUT FORTH YOUR STANCE

Yagiz said all Kurds must show their clear stance against the isolation: “Everybody must uphold their future, their youth and their national values. We may have different ideologies and political parties. But when it comes to Kurdistan we must unite. The enemy doesn’t differentiate between the North or the South.”

I WILL BE WORTHY OF THEIR SALUTES

Yagiz said the KCK and PKK executive council messages for the hunger strikes gave th

em morale and continued: “They have dedicated their lives to this struggle. They have been fighting nonstop for our future for 40 years. Their resistance against the fascism imposed upon the Kurdish people continues. I derive strength from their salutes. I can’t explain how special they are to me. In this sense, I believe my demand is necessitated by our national struggle. This is an utterly pro-freedom and peaceful demand. It is a humanitarian response to an injustice against my creed. I derive this will from the friends who stand with me. This is a representation of 40 years of struggle. This sacred struggle belongs to our people. I bow with respect in front of all comrades who struggle. I will be worthy of their faith and of this struggle.”

THE FUTURE OF MY FAMILY AND MY PEOPLE

Yagiz said the following on his family’s approach towards the protest: “I spoke with them before my mother came to visit. I haven’t stayed away from my family throughout all my struggle. My family hasn’t had any negative approaches to my action. They believed I could stop the deaths. If there is a martyrdom, it would be to stop deaths. I am a member of the Yagiz family. I am proud of my family. My protest is for the future of my family and the Kurdish people. The future of the Middle Eastern peoples is tied to the visits with Ocalan.”

MY HEART MELTS AWAY IN FRONT OF MY EYES

Nasir Yagiz’s mother Muazzez Yagiz said the situation is getting more critical by the minute and called on all “to hear this cry”. Mother Yagiz continued: “May Allah help us all. May Allah crown this struggle with victory. By Allah this isolation will be broken. By Allah we will prevail. My head is held high about Nasir’s protest. This protest is difficult for me. When my son made this decision I told him it was difficult. I told him he couldn’t do it, but he has proven that he can.”

Mother Yagiz said her son is melting away in front of her eyes, and that she has the pain of witnessing that: “My heart grows weak. Nasir is a man who is in love with his community and his struggle. Our people, our MPs should lend their voices to Nasir and his friends. Intellectuals and democrats should speak up before any martyrdoms. They are getting worse by the day. Leyla and Nasir have their days numbered now. The isolation should end. I want this cry to be heard at once.”

DOCTOR WARNS

Yagiz’s doctor said he has started to forget things. The doctor said Yagiz experiences fatigue and intense skeletal pains from his skull and jaw to his waist: “He is having trouble standing up or lying down. He is in extreme pain. His nausea is more frequent. Sometimes he vomits 7 times a day. He is having trouble keeping down fluids. His vomit sometimes has blood in it. Capillaries and his throat have been aggravated. He has very low blood pressure. He can’t use his feet for almost two hours after he wakes up.”