For over a year now, Kurds and people in solidarity have been demanding the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish question in front of the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Geneva. The first rally in the framework of the "Time for Freedom" campaign took place on 25 January 2021. Since then, activists have staged a sit-in in front of the UN building every Wednesday to protest against the international silence on the Turkish campaign of destruction in Kurdistan. In addition to the central demand for freedom for the Kurdish leader and PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan, various current issues have been brought up at the vigil over the course of the year. The UN is urged to act against the war crimes of the Turkish army and to investigate the use of chemical weapons, and its silence is denounced by the activists who carry out their vigil in a tent they set up in the area.

This week’s vigil began with a minute of silence to honor the memory of all those who fell in the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle.

Speaking after, Salih Sağlam, the co-chair of the Democratic Kurdish Community Center (CDK) in Geneva, stated the following: “We will maintain our commitment everywhere and base on the resistance cause of our leader and guerrillas in rejecting the imposition to surrender. We reiterate that we do not accept the concepts of surrender and all-out annihilation that is imposed on us. We will not allow the UN and international states to turn a blind eye to our righteous demands. These states should have no doubt that the Kurdish people will take no single step backwards and maintain their determination for struggle until Leader Öcalan and Kurdistan are freed.”