Swiss deputy Carlo Sommaruga attended the action held in front of the UN this week and said that "the key to the solution to the Kurdish problem will be Abdullah Öcalan if he is released."
The sit-in organized to demand freedom for Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, in front of the United Nations office in Geneva since 25 January 2021, has entered its 32nd month. The sit-in is part of the Kurdish people's "Dem Dema Azadiyê" (Time for Freedom) initiative.
The action started with a minute's silence in memory of the martyrs of the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle in the person of Demhat Cîlo (Eyüp Çelik), who fell as a martyr in 2020 in Garzan.
Making a speech on behalf of the Center for the Democratic Kurdish Society, Kasım Erik said that the sit-in has entered its 32nd month, and underlined that they will continue to protest until the international institutions, including the UN and the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture), fulfil their responsibilities and Abdullah Öcalan is freed.
Carlo Sommaruga, chair of the Kurdish Friendship Group in the Swiss Federal Parliament, attended the action, and said that Abdullah Öcalan should be released. He added: “It is a fact that peace in Turkey will be achieved only through a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. And the key to the solution will be Abdullah Öcalan if he is released.”
Calling on the Swiss state to act to ensure the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, Sommaruga said: “In parallel with the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, human rights defenders, Kurdish politicians and journalists, should also be released. The Swiss state should take responsibility and work towards a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem."
