Demo against Turkish occupation and for freedom for Öcalan to be held in Strasbourg on Saturday

KON-MED (Confederation of Communities of Kurdistan) called for a mass action to be held in Strasbourg on 13 November demanding freedom for Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan and protesting the Turkish state’s invasion and chemical attacks.

KON-MED demanded immediate action by the CPT and the Council of Europe to end the isolation of Öcalan and, at the same time, said that the OPCW institution should conduct an independent investigation into the Turkish state’s use of chemical weapons in South Kurdistan. The umbrella organisation said in a statement: “Our people no longer have the patience to live with the Imrali system. Stop turning a blind eye to these crimes against humanity because of your economic interests.”

The statement signed by the KON-MED Co-Presidency is as follows: “Leader Öcalan was captured as a result of an international conspiracy in 1998 and was brought to Turkey 23 years ago. The conspiracy is being updated once again by the colonial states. An aggravated isolation is applied to the Kurdish people’s leader in Imrali, where methods rarely seen in human history are used. It is no longer possible for us to accept this inhuman isolation that aims at breaking the deep bond between the Kurdish people and their leader. The isolation in Imrali is an attack on the free life choice of the peoples. Our people no longer have the patience to live with the Imrali system. Our struggle will continue uninterruptedly to overcome all obstacles to our leader’s freedom and for his liberation.”

The statement continued: “The international conspiracy is now targeting the entire Kurdistan. Taking advantage of this, the colonialist fascist Turkish state is using chemical weapons against the Kurdish people in front of the whole world. Villages in South Kurdistan are being evacuated. With these attacks, Turkey aims at depriving the Kurdish people of their status and destroying all their gains. The invading Turkish state wants to achieve results with the cooperation of the KDP and the support of international forces. The invasion and massacre attacks launched by the fascist Turkish state on South Kurdistan on 23 April were inconclusive, yet it continues its attacks and commits war crimes by ignoring international rules and law.”

The statement added; “Kurdistan freedom guerrillas are the hope and breath of freedom of the Kurdish people. They continue to protect all the people of Kurdistan with their epic resistance against the invasion and massacre attacks in Avaşîn, Zap and Metîna.

The use of chemical weapons is prohibited by international laws and agreements. The task of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other human rights organizations is to carry out investigations and take action against states using banned weapons. Unfortunately, despite the incriminating findings against the invading Turkish army, no action has been taken by the OPCW or other international actors so far.”

KON-MED called on the CPT and the Council of Europe to take immediate action to end the isolation on Leader Öcalan. “At the same time, – the statement said – we call on the German Federal Government, the United Nations and the international community of states to stop turning a blind eye to these crimes against humanity due to economic interests, and the OPCW institution to take action! We invite all our people living in Germany and all our friends against the war to attend the demonstration to be held in Strasbourg on 13 November.”