KURDISH HUNGER STRIKE IN DUBLIN ON WEDNESDAY 7TH

KURDS IN IRELAND ARE GOING TO HUNGER STRIKE OUTSIDE IRISH PARLIAMENT IN
SUPPORT OF THEIR KURDISH COMRADES IN KURDISTAN. ON WEDNESDAY 7th of november
at 2 PM. Hope to see you all there.

Hundreds of Kurdish prisoners are now taking part in a hunger strike which
they have declared is to be indefinite.

This hunger strike began on 12 September, a not insignificant date in
Turkey¹s political history, with 63 people, including 13 women, in seven
prisons. The numbers have grown rapidly with hundreds more Kurdish political
prisoners joining the action and it is reported that 600 prisoners are
currently on indefinite hunger strike.

The prisoners' demands appear simple and reasonable: the right to education
and legal defence in their mother tongue of Kurdish; and the start of direct
peace talks to resolve the outstanding conflict by peaceful, constitutional
means and with the full participation of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah
Ocalan.

If nothing is done to meet the demands of the hunger strikers, more martyrs
will be added to the Kurdish dead and it is feared that the situation could
rapidly take the country to the brink of chaos. Renewed conflict would
become inevitable if this action were to end in fatalities. We therefore
call on the Turkish government to respond positively to the legitimate
demands made by the hunger strikers.

The majority of those who have joined this action are members of the Peace
and Democracy Party, BDP, including elected politicians and officials; they
are responsible citizens striving to do the best for their communities who
have found themselves detained and gaoled on the basis of largely spurious
allegations.?

It is clear that the Kurdish citizens in very large numbers regard Ocalan as
their political leader and they have chosen him to speak on their behalf.
Ocalan himself has shown consistently that he is ready to reach agreement;
he has put forward many constructive proposals as a basis for negotiations.

It is right to see Ocalan as a responsible leader of a responsible
peace-loving people. It is high time that Turkey changes its approach to the
Kurds and ceases its attempts to demonise the Kurdish people, their
organisations and their leaders; Kurds should not be seen as enemies in a
war but as partners in the pursuit of peace. They want to help build a
modern, truly democratic Turkey.

It can hardly be surprising that it is from inside Turkey's notorious
prisons that this drastic action has been initiated. For nearly four years,
the world has looked on aghast as Turkey has been imprisoning Kurds in their
thousands.

Ostensibly, this is part of a counter-terrorism strategy to safeguard the
unity of the country allegedly threatened by guerrilla violence. In reality,
the anti-terror law has been used to punish, isolate, and silence the
Kurdish community.

Anyone who has been courageous enough to criticise Turkey¹s militarisation
of the Kurdish conflict, or who has demanded the right to speak their own
language in school or to have their Kurdish identity recognised, are
criminalised and arrested.

The Turkish Government has a responsibility to resolve this outstanding
conflict in a spirit of justice, democratic inclusiveness and respect for
the rights of all the country¹s citizens.

The individuals who have taken their decision to join this hunger strike are
demonstrating their dedication and commitment to a cause that is
unquestionably just and right.

The men and women on hunger strike see no other avenues open to them when
faced with a situation where elected politicians are criminalised and
Kurdish community leaders are harassed, detained and sent to court to face
grotesque show trials.

These repressive measures shame Turkey and represent a dangerous political
course that is now threatening to bring calamity on the country. All
Turkey¹s citizens, Turks and Kurds equally, will suffer as will future
generations if the conflict and animosities are permitted to linger on and
escalate.

We have no hesitation in expressing support for the demands of those on
hunger strike -

Education in the mother tongue
The right to use Kurdish in defence in trials;
Respect for the Kurdish people¹s democratic rights;
Freedom for Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan.


For further info contact Latif Serhildan,
0873744783
www.kurdistansolidarityireland.com