The Democratic Society Congress (DTK), Free Women's Movement (TJA), DBP (Democratic Regions Party), HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party), Solidarity Federation with Relatives of Prisoners (MED TUHAD-FED), Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) and the Peace Mothers' Council are staging a protest demonstration in Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) today against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the Turkish government's war policy.

The police are on the scene with a large contingent and are sealing off the streets around the central Koşuyolu Park. Several groups of demonstrators were surrounded by security forces, including MPs from the HDP and the DBP.

While the police continue to try to prevent a large crowd from gathering together, the demonstrators protest against the blockade and shout the slogan "Bijî berxwedana zindanan" (Long live the prison resistance). Relatives of prisoners, including Nazime Boltan, the mother of the seriously ill Civan Boltan, said that their only demand is justice. "We are here today to end injustice in Turkey," said another relative.

Yesterday, when politicians and activists were prevented from inviting people to participate in today's demonstration, DBP chairperson Saliha Aydeniz said: "We wanted to visit traders today, but we were stopped by thousands of security forces. Actually, this is exactly what we mean when we talk about isolation. It is an anti-democratic action and proof of total disregard for human rights. The fact that even a visit to traders scares the state so much shows its helplessness. We will continue to fight against this fascism always and everywhere and be on the streets every day."

In Europe, too, protests by Kurdish people have been taking place on a daily basis for days. Countless people are demanding clarity about the situation of Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK founder who has been imprisoned on the Turkish prison island of Imrali since 1999. The protests are prompted by the complete silence surrounding the 73-year-old and the demand that the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) ensure contact with him and his fellow prisoners.

Since the Asrin Law Office stated at the end of November that the CPT probably had no personal contact with Öcalan during its last visit to Turkey in September, concern for the life and safety of the Kurdish leader has increased. Kurdish society is demanding clarification about the CPT's visit to Imrali and information about the condition of the prisoners.

Abdullah Öcalan is considered a key figure for a political solution to the Kurdish question and a democratisation of Turkey. The Turkish state is investing a huge proportion of its budget in the war in Kurdistan, while the population is suffering from a severe economic crisis. At the same time, more and more political prisoners are dying in Turkey, and mothers are fighting for the lives of their children with peaceful methods.