Women in Düsseldorf call for the release of Abdullah Öcalan
The Kurdish women's movement organized an international forum in Düsseldorf to discuss women's liberation struggle. The over 300 participants called for the release of Abdullah Öcalan.
The Kurdish women's movement held an international forum in Düsseldorf with the slogan “Freedom will win”.
Around 300 women from Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Catalonia, Italy, the Basque Country and other places took part in the event.
Members of the Kurdish women's movement in Europe (TJK-E), the Eastern Kurdish women's association KJAR, the movement of militant young women (Jinên Ciwan ên Têkoşer, TekoJIN), the Alevi association FEDA, the Yazidi women's council, women's organizations from the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria, the Academy of Democratic Modernity, internationalist initiatives and the KOMAW association, in which relatives of the fallen are organized, attended the event.
Women's liberation and the influence of Abdullah Öcalan
The forum was moderated by Gülistan Ike. At the first session, Gönül Kaya (TJK-E) spoke about the perspectives on women's liberation presented by Abdullah Öcalan and the implications in the Middle East. Kaya said that Öcalan's isolation in Turkish custody goes against his paradigm and the women's liberation struggle.
Lawyer Raziye Öztürk from the Asrin Legal Office, which represents Abdullah Öcalan and his three fellow prisoners on the prison island of Imrali, explained the illegality of their solitary confinement conditions, which are neither covered by Turkish nor international law and are open violations of universal standards.
Öcalan last had contact with his lawyers in August 2019, and written or telephone communication is also not possible. Raziye Öztürk particularly pointed out the responsibility of the European Committee against Torture (CPT), which is the only institution that has the opportunity to inspect detention centers in Council of Europe member states at any time.
Feminist scholar and activist Yanira Hermida Martin and many representatives of the participating organizations, spoke about the influence of Abdullah Öcalan on the women's movement and expressed their support for the international campaign "Freedom for Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question" launched on 10 October.
A joint statement by the participants called for Öcalan's release and called for participation in the campaign.
