NAV-DEM called for collective participation in the marches that will be held in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Hamburg on August 20 in order to protest the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.
NAV-DEM issued a written statement and noted that the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Island has intensified more and more over the past 17 years. The organization emphasized that the solitary confinement, arbitrary treatment and physical and psychological mistreatment of Öcalan has become systematic and the Turkish state has been preventing Öcalan from meeting with his lawyers and family members since the coup attempt on July 15. NAV-DEM expressed its concern over the public’s lack of information on Öcalan’s well being and called upon everyone to stand up for Öcalan and enhance the democracy bloc in Turkey.
NAV-DEM recalled the AKP government’s oppression of the Kurdish Freedom Movement and other opposition groups since the coup attempt on July 15, and underlined that the current state of emergency transformed the AKP government into a dictatorship. The organization noted that fascist gangs with the mentality of ISIS, which is supported by the AKP, have been targeting Kurds, Alevis, socialist groups and religious minorities in Turkish metropolitan cities, and described the treatment of Özgür Gündem workers as an indication of the threats against democracy and freedom in Turkey.
NAV-DEM stated that the anti-fascist union and struggle of Alevi and revolutionary forces is the only way for Turkish society to get rid of the current fascist dictatorship, and added that opportunities for such a union have never been this many in history. The organization called upon international institutions to pressure the Turkish state, take action for Öcalan’s health and security, and ensure Öcalan’s communication with his lawyers and family in order to alleviate the concerns of Kurdish people.
Together with ABDEM, DGB and HDK-A, NAV-DEM called upon everyone to participate in the marches that will be held in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Hamburg on August 20 in order to protest the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and condemn the AKP’s civilian dictatorship in Turkey.
Below are the venues and times of the upcoming marches in Europe:
Berlin: U-Bahn Hermanplatz NEUKÖLN, 17:00
Düsseldorf: Friedrich-Ebertstr, in front of the DGB-haus across from Hauptbahnhof, 14.00
Stuttgart: Lautenschlagerstr, 17.00
Frankfurt: Kaiserstr in front of the Hauptbahnhof, 16.00
Hamburg: Bahn Osterstraße 118, 20255, 15.00.
