Peace Mothers, who have struggled for years so there would be no deaths in Kurdistan and Turkey, want the new process started by Abdullah Öcalan to end in peace. One of these mothers is Afife Kartal. She is the mother of a martyr and a prisoner. She is one of the thousands of Kurdish women in Kurdistan who have fought for peace against oppression. Kartal’s daughter Tekoşîn joined the PKK in 2011 and was martyred in 2017; a son sentenced to 22 years in prison is still incarcerated.
Afife Kartal continues her determination in the struggle for peace.
Speaking to ANF, Peace Mother Afife Kartal said: “After Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan initiated the peace process, we mothers supported it. The entire world should support this process. Just as Mr. Öcalan said he would start the process and open the doors to peace. The state must also extend its hand of peace to Mr. Öcalan. At the start of the peace process, they said, ‘Let Öcalan come and speak at the DEM Party Group Meeting,’ but they did not keep their word. We support peace as long as we live. Because peace is truly a beautiful thing. We do not want war.”
The state must take the outstretched hand of peace
Kartal said: “We only want peace. Öcalan only wants peace. We must support the peace path opened by Öcalan. Peace Mothers have been fighting for peace for 25 years and are voicing peace demands in every arena. We only want brotherhood and an honorable peace. The PKK has fulfilled its duty in the name of peace. Now the Turkish state must also assume this responsibility. If President Erdoğan truly wants peace, he should consider our demands. Erdoğan’s children are not fighting; our children are fighting. Kurdish people’s children have always paid the price; despite this, they have always wanted peace. Even though we have handed our children’s bodies to the ground, we have never given up our demand for peace. We no longer want martyr funerals. Three Peace Mothers spoke at the commission set up in the Parliament; they were not even allowed to speak in Kurdish. In a place where Kurdish is banned, what peace can there be? We do not accept this. We want to explain our problems in our mother tongue. Mr. Öcalan is doing everything he can for peace.”
The only legacy I will leave my children will be peace
Noting that she has fought for an honorable peace for many years, Afife Kartal said: “Let there be a peace based on brotherhood. Let them free Öcalan. Let our guerrillas come back now. They only want peace. I sacrificed a child on this path. One of my sons is in prison. I had to migrate because of state oppression. My daughter fought for this people’s demands and sacrificed her life for it. They gave me my daughter’s body in a bag. We will demand peace until our last word. The only legacy I will leave my children will be peace. Even if I die, my children and grandchildren will continue the struggle for peace.
May the Kurdish people uphold Öcalan’s struggle. Öcalan’s sole concern is peace. The state must not leave the hand of peace extended by Öcalan empty.”