On Monday, the deputies of the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) parliamentary group continued their vigil for the lifting of the total isolation of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. For 22 months, no sign of life has reached the outside world from the prison island of Imrali. Day after day, the MPs try to march from the parliament to the Ministry of Justice, but are prevented from doing so by the police. Therefore, a daily protest meeting of the MPs takes place in front of the entrance of the parliament building. On the 13th day of the protest, MPs Kemal Bülbül, Serpil Kemalbay, Erdal Aydemir, Murat Çepni, Kemal Peköz, Celadet Gaydalı and Nuran Imir took part in the protest with placards that read: "The law must also apply in Imrali" and "Isolation is a crime against humanity".

"THE WHOLE STATE IS GRIPPED BY DECAY"

HDP MP Serpil Kemalbay took the floor and said: "We have elections ahead of us. On the way to the most important elections in Turkey's history, we are facing a climate of insecurity in Turkey. Decay is increasing day by day and political murders are being committed. This decay has permeated the government and the top of the state. It is important to look at the whole situation from this point of view. One of the main reasons for the great corruption, misery, injustice, oppression and violence in Turkey is the war policy, a policy based on conflict and preventing a solution. This is being imposed on the peoples of Turkey. In order to ensure its power and survival, the fascist AKP/MHP bloc continues its oppression day after day, bringing a deeper and deeper night over Turkey."

"THE MURDERS OF WOMEN ARE AN EXPRESSION OF THEIR FEAR"

Referring to the Paris killings, Kemalbay said: "Today, 9 January, is the anniversary of the first Paris massacre. Three Kurdish women politicians were murdered in Paris in 2013. Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez lost their lives in this massacre. Although there was a lot of evidence that the MIT was behind this massacre, the French state closed the file and Turkey did not investigate in any way. Also in January, in 2016 massacres took place in the death cellars in Şirnak province and other places. On 5 January, the three Kurdish politicians, Sêvê Demir, Pakize Nayır and Fatma Uyar, were murdered in Silopi. These massacres are carried out by the political forces that consider women politicians who are working for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question and Kurdish political movements as their enemies. We know that such political killings do not only come from Turkey."

Recalling the Mirabel Sisters, Rosa Luxemburg and also Deniz Poyraz and Nagihan Akarsel, Kemalbay said: "We will continue to defend democratic politics against these massacres. These massacres are part of the politics of intimidation. The fact that women were shot first shows their fear of women. This is to eliminate women's contribution to political change."

"WE WILL BREAK THE ISOLATION"

Kemalbay concluded by saying: "We are here today because we assume that the basis of all these policies is a policy of war and colonialism. Both the capitalist system and the imperialist powers want to silence and isolate the peoples' demands for equality, freedom, democracy and peace through intimidation. This is how this system is meant to be preserved. Those who assassinated three women politicians in 2013 during the peace process also organised the current assassinations, especially those of Deniz Poyraz and Nagihan Akarsel. This is to silence the demands of the democratic forces in Turkey and especially the HDP. These attacks will not force us to retreat. We will continue our struggle for peace, equality, freedom and justice not only in Kurdistan and Turkey, but all over the world.

We will break the isolation in Imralı so that the necessary conditions for peace talks can be created. We will fight for this and confront all difficulties. The most important part of this solidarity will be women. The struggle of women illuminates our path. We continue our way with what we have learnt from them. We say that isolation must be broken, that the politics of war must be ended, that peace must be made immediately."