The conference held by the Peace Mothers in Amed (tr. Diyarbakır) under the motto “Mothers are pioneers of a democratic society and lasting peace,” continues with speeches following the reading of Abdullah Öcalan’s message.
‘We will bring peace to this country’
Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak commemorated the mothers who lost their lives and expressed her hope that the conference would contribute to peace. This was followed by a video message sent to the conference by the Peace Mothers of Rojava, which stated: “We greet and congratulate all the Peace Mothers in Bakur (North Kurdistan). We hope this conference will be an opportunity for peace, freedom, and a solution. We hope it will bring together the mothers in Bakur and Rojava. We hope it will lead to the physical freedom of Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan).”
Hülya Alökmen of the Free Women’s Movement (TJA) stated: “Above all else in this process, we want Mr. Öcalan’s freedom, and we will not back down from this demand. Mothers and women are the ones who can build peace and a democratic society. The path to freedom is both difficult and long. Amidst these difficulties, we will bring peace to this country with determination, enthusiasm, and great excitement. We will build a free, united future for our children, our women, and our youth.”
‘We send our love to the Peace Mothers’
A message sent by the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina said: “We send our love to the Peace Mothers. Our struggle is for truth and freedom, so that massacres never happen again. What we must do is not remain silent. We need to speak out about what we feel, what we know, and what we have learned.”
A message from Mazlum Doğan’s sister, Serap Mutlu Doğan, greeted the Peace Mothers and congratulated them on the conference, saying: “Mothers enable us to look to the future with hope.”
‘Grieved mothers throughout Kurdistan want a solution’
Ayşegül Doğan, spokesperson for the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said, “We did not oppress anyone, we did not ban anyone’s language, we did not deny anyone’s ethnicity. What we said is the fact that peoples are brothers and sisters that and we can live together. You pioneered the struggle for a free life. Your efforts were so powerful that even non-Kurdish mothers say, ‘Neither Kurdish mothers nor Turkish mothers should cry.’ You were hurt more than once, but you still demanded that others do not experience what you suffered. You said your struggle was for co-existence. No one should be afraid of this. Today, grieved mothers throughout Kurdistan want a solution; they want to live together.”
‘We must share the responsibility on the shoulders of Öcalan’
Doğan pointed to the struggle of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has initiated a new process with his February 27 Call for Peace and Democratic Society. “Today is the time to heed this call, to pull ourselves together, to form a great alliance, and to join hands. We must share the responsibility on the shoulders of Mr. Öcalan, who has been under isolation for 27 years. We must open his path, our own path; the path of those yearning for peace and a free life,” Doğan said.
‘Öcalan’s strength became the path to peace and freedom’
Sultan Yaray from the Kurdish Women’s Union Platform stated: “Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan has shown everyone a great path. Now they should see our mothers’ insistence on peace and take the process initiated by the Kurdish People’s Leader seriously. They should grant him his physical freedom as soon as possible. Despite all the difficult conditions, Mr. Öcalan never gave up on his desire for peace. His strength became the path to peace and freedom.”
After the reading of the messages, the conference continued closed to the press.