A vigil by the Democratic Kurdish Community in Switzerland has been taking place in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva since 25 January 2021. Every Wednesday, activists stage a protest in front of the United Nations building to demand the release of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan. The action is carried out as part of the 'Dem dema azadiye' [Time for Freedom] campaign and directed against the isolation of the Kurdish leader on the Turkish prison island of Imrali, the Turkish occupation attacks on Kurdistan, the massacres committed in Kurdish territories and the silence of the UN.

Today’s vigil began with a minute of silence paying tribute to martyrs of the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle, after which Mustafa Altunbaş spoke on behalf of the ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan Committee’.

Altunbaş saluted the 45th anniversary of the founding of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and called for participation in the celebration on the occasion which will take place in Luzern on 2 December, Saturday.

Speaking after, the co-chair of the Democratic Kurdish Council (CDK) in Geneva, Mehmet Latif Çelebi, spoke about the history of the PKK, which, he said, has become a popular movement followed by millions of people today.

Remarking that a policy of isolation has been pursued against Abdullah Öcalan for 25 years, Çelebi denounced the policy of heaviest isolation in violation of international law implemented against Öcalan for the last 33 months.

Çelebi called on the Council of Europe, Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the United Nations to uphold their responsibilities against the isolation of Öcalan. He vowed that the Kurdish people will continue their actions in support of the international campaign “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question”.