Solidarity to Kurdish hunger strike from British trade unionists

British union's executives are participating in the three-day solidarity action to be held in front of London's Manor House station.

The London-based Migrant Workers Cultural Centre (Gik-Der) is organising a three-day activity in support to the hunger strike demanding the end of isolation against Abdullah Öcalan.

British union's executives are participating in the three-day solidarity action to be held in front of London's Manor House station.

The three-day event will begin on Thursday 28 February and will be attended by Rail and Transport Union-RMT assistant general secretary Steve Hedley and Central executive board member Eddie Dempsey.

RMT, Britain's largest transport union, has 83,000 members.

In the statement issued by the Migrant Workers Cultural Association the hunger strike led by HDP Hakkari MP Leyla Güven is commended. “Leyla has been on hunger strike for 111 days. Imam Şiş is on his 71st day of fast in Wales. It is everyone’s responsibility - said the statement - to support this resistance and support this struggle. We are calling on everybody to visit our solidarity tent and be the voice of the hunger strikers.”

Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of the RMT trade union, wrote on the Morning Star about the purpose of the solidarity action.

Hedley wrote: “As of today, Leyla Guven, and MP for the left-wing Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey, will have been on hunger strike for 111 days.

The HDP, sister party of our Labour Party, has faced unspeakable repression.

Two former joint leaders of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, have been in jail since 2016 for spreading “propaganda in support of a terrorist organisation” — and the same fate has also befallen many of their MPs: Guven was jailed in January 2018 for criticism of Turkey’s illegal invasion of Syria.

The invasion, targeting the predominantly Kurdish town of Afrin in northern Syria, was a deliberate attack on the YPG and SDF forces who have heroically fought and defeated Isis.

Furthermore the invading Turkish forces include many of the very same jihadist terror gangs that have plagued and enslaved the Syrian people — yet for criticising this, Guven is the one who facing more than a 100 years in prison on charges of “terror propaganda.”

Hadley added: “As internationalists who believe in the brotherhood and sisterhood of the working class across national boundaries, we have been compelled to witness this repression of our class first hand: I, along with other RMT executive members, was tear-gassed in the famous Taksim Square when Turkish police attacked a peaceful crowd of labour and left demonstrators made up mainly of elderly people and youth unprovoked.”

Calling on everyone to join the 3-day solidarity action, Steve Hedley wrote: “We call for the breaking of diplomatic and economic ties — especially an end to the disgraceful arms deals done by British and European companies.

We ask for statements of solidarity with the strikers, and condemnation of the Turkish state’s actions, from women’s organisations, left parties such as Labour, anti-fascists, trade unionists and all progressive people.

The hunger strikers cry out for justice. The world must answer with action.”