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 march 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. This week the focus of the protest event was the Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan’s birthday on April 4.

Today’s vigil began with a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs who fell fighting for the freedom of the Kurdish people and Kurdistan.

Speaking here, the co-chair of the Democratic Kurdish Community Center in Geneva (CDK), Erdal Atasoy, celebrated Öcalan’s birthday, defining it as a historic day for the Kurds.

The people of Kurdistan were born with the birth of Öcalan,” said Atasoy and pointed out that this birth has influenced the entire world thanks to the struggle led by Kurdish women.

Atasoy stressed that Öcalan and the guerrillas became a hope not only for the Kurdish people in four parts of Kurdistan, but for all peoples around the world.

Atasoy criticized the UN’s silence in the face of the isolation regime imposed on Öcalan and the massacres against the Kurds.

The vigil concluded with a call for participation in the central rally to take place in Dusseldorf on April 15.

The activists then turned their backs on the UN in protest at its silence on Öcalan’s isolation and massacres in Kurdistan.