The hunger strikes launched under the lead of DTK Co-chair and Hakkari MP Leyla Guven demanding an end to the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan continue with determination. Leyla Guven is on day 170 of her hunger strike, Nasir Yagiz is on day 157 in Hewler, the Strasbourg activists and Imam Sis in Wales are on day 131, and the prisoners in Turkey and Kurdistan who were part of the first wave of hunger strikes are on day 132.

HDP MP Dersim Dag went on a hunger strike on March 3, and was followed by MPs Tayip Temel and Murat Sarısaç on March 8.

HDP Van MP Murat Sarısaç spoke to ANF about the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan, the ongoing hunger strikes and the silence against the hunger strikes.

“CPT STRAYED FAR FROM ITS VALUES”

Sarısaç pointed out that the AKP government is trying to keep standing through isolation and anti-Kurdish policies and added: “The isolation against Ocalan is imposed upon both the Kurdish people and the forces of democracy. The Kurdish issue flared up with the Imrali isolation as well. Kurds and their leaders were targeted and the war was deepened. The state has the same approach to Ocalan as Kurds in general. The state has set up a special system in Imrali. As the isolation deepens, the state’s approach to Kurds also changes. There are arrests, deaths and massacres. To end that, the isolation must end and the state must give self criticism to the Kurdish people.”

HDP MP mentioned the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture’s (CPT) stance on the isolation and said the CPT has strayed far from their own values with this stance. Sarisac continued: “The CPT hasn’t objected to the unlawfulness in Imrali to date. The CPT and ECHR have turned their back on Kurds with their decisions and stance on Imrali. The isolation is not imposed just through Turkey. Turkey has been given the role of the warden. Everything from Ocalan's imprisonment to the Imrali system is run under control of imperial powers. The CPT has become a part of these policies. The tyranny and the war against the Kurdish people are connected to these policies. The invasion of Afrin is not separate either.”

“DON’T REMAIN SILENT AGAINST TYRANNY”

Sarısaç also protested the government’s silence on the hunger strikes and concluded his words with: “The AKP government is silent in the face of the hunger strikes as part of their war policies against Kurds. But the Kurdish people and the families of prisoners are up and resisting against fascism. People throughout the world are protesting the Turkish state’s policies. The people resist the tyranny in Turkey. There may not be a mass protest, but Kurds are standing up everywhere against this tyranny.

Today there is a moral and conscientious objection. We don’t want much, we just want the law to be instated and the state abide by the law. The state may claim that they are democratic, but the truth is just the opposite. Injustice increases every day. I am calling on the peoples of Turkey, protest these injustices and do whatever you can. Today tyranny is against Kurds but tomorrow it will be your turn. Don’t remain silent against tyranny.”