Speaking at the press conference held on the third anniversary of the start of the Vigil for Freedom for Ocalan, PACE United European Left Group chair Tiny Kox called for the immediate release of Kurdish People’s Leader.

The vigil action held in front of the European Parliament demanding the freedom of the Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan has left 3 years behind. A highly participated press conference was held in front of the European Parliament today in order to mark the 3rd anniversary of the longest permanent action of Kurdish people living in Europe.

The conference was attended by the chair of United European Left Group Tiny Kox, vice chair of the group Andrej Hunko, former Minister of Health in Island and MEP Jonaşon Ögmundur, MEP Lotta Johnson Fornerve from Sweden Left Party, Anagnostopoulou Athanasia, Katrivanou Vasiliki, Kavvadia Ioanneta from SYRIZA, delegation from Georgia Left Coalition, KNK chair Tahir Kemalizade, Kongra-Gel chair Remzi Kartal, KNK executive council member Adem Uzun, the lawyer of Abdullah Öcalan Ebru Günay, Havin Güneşer from Initiative for Freedom for Öcalan, the head of Kurdish People’s Friends Association Bernard Revelon, film maker Luis Miranda as well as a large group of Kurdish people.

Speaking at the conference, PACE United European Left Group chair Tiny Kox said the struggle of Kurdish people are closely followed not only with regard to its success in Kurdistan but also the stage it reached in the region and the whole world. Kox said the Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan must be released immediately.

Speaking after, Andrej Hunko said they stood by the struggle of Kurdish people and Abdullah Öcalan, and that their support would continue.  

MEP Anagnostopoulou Athanasia from SYRIZA said that SYRIZA considers the freedom of Kurdish people together with the freedom of the Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan, and added that SYRIZA would continue to defend the freedom of Öcalan and the liberation of the Kurdish people. Antanasia also stressed that the Kurdish people are struggling for democracy in Turkey as well as in the world, certainly not only in Kurdistan.

The representative of the Georgian Left Coalition said Öcalan represents the same for the Kurdish people as what Mandela represented for the people of South Africa. Coalition representative added: “We see the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people as our own struggle and defend it”.

“Vigil for Freedom for Öcalan”, or shortly known as the “Freedom Vigil,” started on 25 June 2012 in protest of the intensive isolation of Abdullah Öcalan since his imprisonment in 1999. The “Freedom Vigil” takes place between 07:30 and 17:00 for 7 days of the week. The Freedom Vigil is the longest permanent action held by Kurdish people living in Europe. The vigil, participated by hundreds of Kurdish people so far, aims to raise awareness within the European community about the Kurdish problem and the need for Öcalan's freedom. 400 thousand leaflets in English, German and French informing about the demands of the action, and 40 thousand copies of the Kurdish leader's biography have been distributed as part of the vigil action so far. Activists also held face to face talks with over 70 thousand people and collected over 21 thousand signatures for the Kurdish leader's freedom.