Assistant General Secretary at Unite and one of the organisers of The Time Has Come Freedom for Öcalan Campaign was interviewed by Journalist Erem Kansoy as part of a series of interview organised with the support of the Freedom for Öcalan Campaign and the Peace in Kurdistan campaign.

Tony Burke is an Assistant General Secretary at Unite and Vice President of IndustriALL Europe and a member of the TUC Executive Committee leading on employment and union rights.

Burke said that "it is important to build support around the demand for freedom of Öcalan because Öcalan is like Mandela, vital for the achievement of peace in the Middle East."

A trade unionist for over 45 years, Tony Burke was previously the Deputy General Secretary of the print union GPMU. He is a member of the Labour Party NPF and represents the TUC on the board.

Of the sector skills council Cogent and represents Unite within international union federations. He is chair of the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom and a member of the Board of the Peoples Press Printing Society and is the Trade Union co-ordinator for the Morning Star newspaper.

He was a member of the 2019 International Peace Delegation to Imrali.