"We celebrate the Great Hunger Strike Resistance Victory once again, commemorate the martyrs, and commend all those who took part in this resistance. Let’s continue the resistance with more creative and new ways and let’s lead it to victory!”
The PKK Executive Committee issued a statement on the end of the hunger strike following the call of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The PKK statement said: “Democratic Society Congress co-chair and HDP Hakkari MPLeyla Güven went on hunger strike in Diyarbakir Prison on 8 November 2018 demanding the end of isolation in Imrali. The resistance spread to all four parts of Kurdistan and many cities and countries, 30 prisoners went on death fast and 9 activists fell martyrs. On her 200th day of hunger strike the activists decided to end the hunger strike following a message sent by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan. The hunger strike was called off on 26 May 2019.”
The PKK reminded that “just like the 1982 Great Prison Resistance, this Great Hunger Strike Resistance has won a historic ideological victory by breaking the fascist-genocidal mentality and politics. After the blow dealt to the fascist-genocidal mentality on 31 March, lawyers could visit Imrali on 2 and 22 May. […] The hunger strike and the death fast resistance have reached its goal and now has come to an end, but the Resistance Movement continues. As all the hunger strikers said very clearly, they will all continue to fight to achieve freedom for Önder Abdullah Öcalan.”
Martyrs commemorated
The PKK commended the martyrs of “this historic resistance: Zülküf Gezen, Ayten Beçet, Zehra Sağlam, Media Çınar, Yonca Akıcı, Sıraç Yüksek, Mahsum Pamay, Ümit Acar and Uğur Şakar and all the people who fight for freedom.”
Fight for freedom and democracy
Insisting that the “fight for freedom and democracy continues”, the PKK statement added: “This fight will take new shapes and ways. There is going to be no weakening nor pause in social resistance. Leader Abdullah Öcalan wanted to end the hunger strike and death fast actions, but he also wanted to develop the struggle for freedom and democracy against isolation and fascism in a more massive, creative and rich ways. In this regard, he called all the social sectors, especially the youth and women, and the democratic political forces to join the struggle for active and effective democracy, and stated that the achievement of the process in terms of democracy depends on the struggle of these forces. Again, all the hunger strikers made theirs this call and in turn called on all democratic forces to fight for common democracy against isolation and fascism.”
Call to all democratic forces
The PKK ended its statement by endorsing “this call and make it ours. We would like to emphasize the 7-item Democratic Declaration issued by Önder Abdullah Öcalan and the other comrades in İmralı, and we would like to see it discussed here more extensively in order to reclaim it and implement it. On this basis, we invite all the democratic forces inside and outside to fulfill their duties and responsibilities.”
Let’s take the resistance to victory
The PKK added: “We will be actively struggling, not passively waiting. Indeed on 1 June we celebrate the 9th anniversary of the 1 June 2010 Fourth Strategic Movement and we are entering in its tenth year. Let's break isolation, break fascism and free Kurdistan.
We celebrate the Great Hunger Strike Resistance Victory once again, commemorate the martyrs, and commend all those who took part in this resistance. Let’s continue the resistance with more creative and new ways and let’s lead it to victory!”
