A people’s meeting was organized in the city of Liverpool by the Kurdish People’s Assembly. DEM Party MP for Amed, Berdan Öztürk, attended the event. The program began with a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs of the Kurdish Freedom Movement.
Öztürk highlighted that the current process differs from previous periods. He said: “Over the past 10 years, the government has played every possible game against the Kurds, but it could not defeat us. During this time, Mr. Öcalan was subjected to severe isolation, yet there was also tremendous resistance. The fact that the state is now approaching us is not a favor. It is the result of that resistance.”
Öztürk continued: “We do not accept a return to the past, nor denial and assimilation. The world has changed; everything has changed. They used to say, ‘Kurds can never unite,’ but we proved the opposite. Our greatest demand is a shared and equal life.”
Öztürk added: “We now have many paths before us. Mr. Öcalan clearly lays them out in his messages. His call is for all of us. The PKK has laid down its arms. Now the other side has no option left but peace. We are ready for a genuine peace.”
Berdan Öztürk said: “We have never been deceived, because from the very beginning our motto has been ‘A Free Kurdistan and a Democratic Turkey.’ This process will not move forward by sitting idly. Everyone must take responsibility. Kurds in the diaspora must also work. If one person is working, now a hundred must work.”