Strasbourg hunger strikers call on Europeans to join the struggle

In Strasbourg, activists, who have been on hunger strike for 15 days, called on Europeans to share important values ​​with Kurds through a French newspaper.

The solidarity hunger strike in Strasbourg entered its 15th day. The action has been launched in solidarity with the hunger strike started by HDP Hakkari MP Leyla Güven, demanding the lifting of the total isolation regime imposed on Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The HDP deputy is on her 54th day of hunger strike.

The action in Strasbourg has been reported by many national and local media. In France, the leftist Humanité newspaper gave it wide coverage.

The newspaper, which also interviewed hunger strikers Mustafa Sarikaya and Gulistan Ike, defined Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan “as one of the most famous political prisoners in the world.”

The newspapers wrote: “What is the situation of one of the world's most famous political prisoners, held in Turkey for 19 years?”

The paper continued: "No international institution, family, lawyers are allowed to visit Imrali. A few months later, Abdullah Öcalan will be 70. He has not been able to meet with his lawyers since July 2011. Family members' visits were interrupted in October 2014 and no deputy has been allowed to see him since 2015. The Kurdish leader was also deprived of all telephone calls.”

Only in April 2016, the paper recalled, a delegation from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) could go to Imrali. “But for more than two and a half years, there has been no information from the prison”, added the paper.

To break this isolation, the newspaper reported that 4 women and 11 men had been on hunger strike in Strasbourg since 17 December.

Gulistan İke and Kurdish politician Mustafa Sarakıya are among those interviewed by media.

Ike and Sarikaya, after explaining the aims of their action, answered questions about current political developments.

Assessing the US decision to leave Syria, Sarıkaya said: “The Middle East is a hive. All the forces want to play a role in reorganizing the region and protecting their interests first.”

Pointing out that Trump's decision came as a result of the conversations between Erdogan and Trump, Sarikaya said: “The situation is changing at a rapid pace. This confirms that the peoples of the Middle East should rely on their own power, not foreign forces.”

Gulistan Ike, underlined that the Rojava revolution took place despite all the foreign forces in the region, and not thanks to them.

Ike also pointed out that while the people of Europe show solidarity with Kurds, European governments have a different approach.

Sarikaya said: “What we want is for someone to go to Imrali and meet with Abdullah Öcalan. If this happens, the hunger strike will be stopped.”

Sarıkaya stressed that the CPT should fulfil its responsibility and comes out against the isolation in Imralı.

Gülistan Ike reminded that only 15 people are on indefinite hunger strike. “We know that this is not enough. - she said - For this reason, we need our European friends who share the same human values ​​with us.”

In addition to the L’Humanite newspaper, regional newspapers DNA and 20 Minute newspapers as well as feminist magazine 50 \ 50 and Breton 7 Seize website gave wide coverage to the hunger strike.