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.

During today’s vigil, activists paid tribute to 29 members of North-East Syrian Internal Security Forces who were killed in a Turkish attack in Derik on 4 October and vowed to continue the struggle against the Turkish state’s genocidal attacks on North-East Syria.  

Tuba Yılmaz, co-chair of the Democratic Kurdish Council (CDK) in Geneva, saluted the international campaign "Freedom for Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question". The campaign, which was launched simultaneously in over a hundred places all around the world on 10 October, unites social movements, political parties, municipalities, trade unions, activists, intellectuals and millions of Kurds and people in solidarity with the Kurdish liberation struggle worldwide around a common goal: the participation of Abdullah Öcalan in a dialogue for a just and democratic political solution to the Kurdistan question in Turkey, which has remained unresolved for more than a century.

Speaking after, CDK co-chair Mehmet Latif Çelebi denounced the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people.

Çelebi pointed out that attacks in four parts of Kurdistan are directly connected to the isolation of the Kurdish leader.

Pointing to the role of international institutions and states in the isolation of Öcalan, Çelebi stated: “We declare our support for the international campaign for Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who presented a model with a new philosophy and paradigm to the world. We reiterate our call upon the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) and other international institutions to uphold their responsibilities and to take action to stop the isolation executed on Öcalan.”