The vigil being held in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg for the freedom for the Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan continues in its 147th week. The vigil this week is being run by the executives and members of the Amsterdam Kurdish Democratic Society Congress.

The Amsterdam group took over the vigil yesterday on the 1,008th day from Democratic Alevi Federation (FEDA) members.

Engin Yurtsever made a speech on behalf of the group from Amsterdam saying that the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people has been concretized in the personality of the Kurdish Leader as it had been the case of many liberation struggles in the world. Yurtsever said this is why the freedom of Öcalan is essential to the movement.

Yurtsever drew attention to the fact that the Kurdish struggle has broadened over the years, and criticised the fact it is still considered within the scope of “terror” in Europe, recalling the terrorist actions of the ISIS gangs and the fact that the Kurdish forces were the only ones stopping terrorism in the Middle East.

The group also stressed their demand for the removal of the PKK from the list of terrorist organisations.

A woman activist, who is joining the vigil for the second time, said they are doing their best to explain their struggle to the world, but the international community prefers to remain silent in the face of what they hear and see. She said they are holding the action for the freedom of the Kurdish Leader as the Kurdish people will not be free until Öcalan becomes free.

Another woman activist, Meryem Can, drew attention to the importance of the upcoming general elections in Turkey and called on people to vote for the HDP for a democratic solution of the Kurdish question.

Another activist, Keko Kutlubay, said he is proud of being part of the action as the Kurdish people will not be free without the freedom of their leader, vowing to continue the struggle until Öcalan is released.

The vigil for the freedom for Öcalan started on 25 June 2012 and has continued since then, starting each morning in the early hours and going on until evening. 147 groups and over 700 people have so far taken part in the vigil, while hundreds of thousands of bulletins, brochures and leaflets providing information about the demands of the vigil and the Kurdish movement have been distributed.