Sit-in protest in front of the UN office in Geneva continues

Kurdish activists have held a sit-in protest in front of the United Nations office in Geneva every Wednesday since January, within the scope of consistent protests demanding end of the isolation in Imralı and physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.

Today’s sit-in protest began with a minute of silence for the martyrs of Kurdish Freedom Struggle in the person of Peoples’ Defense Forces (HPG) Commander Ulaş Dersim (Ulaş Doğan) who fell martyr as the result of a bombardment by the fascist Turkish state on Medya Defense Zones on 9 June 2021.

During the action, the activists displayed posters Kurdish leader Öcalan and the PKK flags. Constituents of the Alliance of Democratic Forces (DGB) visited the activists today.

Salih Sağlam, co-chair of Geneva Kurdish Community Center made a speech on Ulaş Dersim’s history of struggle and said, “With the campaign ‘Time for freedom’ (Dem dema azadiye ye), we will achieve victory carrying the struggle flags of our heroes, in the person of Ulaş Dersim, who lost their lives in the fight for freedom.”

Remarking that the support of European states, especially the United Nations (UN) to the invasion and genocidal attacks of the Turkish state and the KDP’s (Kurdistan Democratic Party) partnership in these attacks are unacceptable, Sağlam continued, “We will struggle everywhere we live in response to the attacks aiming a total genocide targeting the Kurdish people, their leader, Medya Defense Zones and all values of Kurdish people. We will follow the resistance line of the guerrilla and the leader Öcalan against the European states supporting the invasion and hostile stance of the KDP administration.”

The sit-in protest which has been held in front of the UN office under the slogan “Against the isolation, invasion and genocide, everywhere is Avashin, everywhere is Zap, everywhere is Metina!” within the scope of the campaign “Time for freedom” has been continuing since January 25.