Preparations are underway for the "100 thousand people march" to Gemlik to ask an end to the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. As it was predictable the march is meeting a lot of problems. To begin with a police operation in the area of Gemlik has ended with the detention of several BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) members. The BDP is one of the organisers of the march for the freedom of Öcalan. The others are TUHAD-FED (Confederation of Solidarity with Prisoner's Families) and DTK (Democratic Society Congress).

It is understood that check posts have been set up around Gemlik to control entrances and exits.

The convoy from Van has reported having being stopped last night in Edremit. The police did not allow the convoy to continue and in the end it was forced to go back to Van. The convoy coming from Hakkari was searched twice and was then force to make its way to Van.

This morning problems and violence were met in Siirt and Diyarbakýr. Police put up barricades and tried to prevent people from leaving the cities. In Çýnar the convoy was stopped and fined a huge amount of money.

TUHAD-FED Chair Zübeyde Teker called on everybody “to join the march to enable the resumption of negotiations and ending of political and military operations”. Teker underlined “We will be in Gemlik on October 9th to express our demands for the freedom and health of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan who is considered by all circles as an interlocutor in the solution of the Kurdish problem, for the continuation of negotiations and for the ending of political and military operations. We are calling on all socialists, revolutionaries, intellectuals, artists, civil society organizations, parties and all sections of the society to join us in Gemlik.”