Kurdish activists’ vigil in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva enters its 11th month

A sit-in protest against the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan continues in front of the United Nations (UN) building in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kurdish activists have been protesting every Wednesday since January 15, gathering around the tent of resistance they have set up in front of the UN.

The vigil, which has entered its 11th month, is held in a tent set up in front of the UN headquarters as part of the ‘Stop Isolation, Fascism, Occupation, Time to Realize Freedom’ campaign.

Every Wednesday, the activists hand out leaflets and brochures concerning the isolation of Öcalan and the significance of his physical freedom. They also inform the visitors about their action.

This week’s action began with a minute’s silence in memory of the martyrs of the Kurdistan Liberation Movement in the person of Berjîn Zenda (Ayşe Demir) who fell a martyr in a bombardment carried out by the Turkish army in the vicinity of Keste village on 7 July 2021.

Speaking during today’s vigil, Co-chair of the Democratic Kurdish Community Center in Geneva, Salih Sağlam, called the silence of European states and the UN on Öcalan’s isolation unacceptable.

Recalling that the international conspiracy was carried out by these very states, Sağlam continued:

“With the support of these states, especially the UN, the Turkish state seeks an invasion of the entire Kurdistan territory and a genocide against Kurdish people. To this end, the occupying army has been conducting chemical weapons attacks against Medya Defense Zones for months. We will remain loyal to the struggle of our martyrs, stand with the guerrilla resistance everywhere we live, and resist against these genocidal invasion attacks, based on the resistance line of Leader Abdullah Öcalan.”

Following the speeches, Kurdish activists continued the sit-in action with slogans saluting the “Time for Freedom” (Dem Dema Azadiyê ye) campaign.