‘Aberdeen Trades Union Council
(ATUC) stands with our Kurdish comrades currently on indefinite hunger strike,
and echoes their call for an end to the isolation of Kurdish political leader
Abdullah Öcalan, incarcerated on the Turkish prison island of İmralı for the
past 20 years. Such isolation is deemed a form of torture, outlawed by
international law. ATUC calls on the European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture to carry out its fundamental duty and visit Öcalan in prison. We also
call on our elected representatives to do all in their power to see that
pressure is put on Turkey to comply with human rights legislation.
Furthermore, we recognise the
respect with which Öcalan is held by millions of Kurds who regard him as their
leader; the hugely progressive impact of his ideas on women’s rights,
democracy, and multi-ethnic society; and the vital role that he can play in
negotiating a peaceful settlement between the Kurds and the Turkish Government.
International solidarity and action were required to end South
African apartheid and see Nelson Mandela lead his people to freedom and justice
after decades of imprisonment on Robben Island. The Kurdish people in their
struggle for justice demand no less from us – and they demand justice for their
imprisoned leader, locked in isolation in his island prison.’
Fiona Napier, Secretary of
ATUC, recently visited the fourteen hunger strikers
in Strasbourg, and stressed the
need for international solidarity and action; “This is not the first time that
Kurds have felt that hunger strike is the only option open to them. Those we
spoke with in Strasbourg pointed out that they have tried every other
avenue open to them, and it has achieved nothing for the Kurdish cause, or
Öcalan. All they are asking from the international community is to recognise
and support their action, and for all of us to push our politicians to hold
Turkey to account.” A full report on the delegation to Strasbourg is available here.
Together with Scottish
Solidarity with Kurdistan (SSK), Aberdeen Trades Union Council are urging a
range of actions – more information here.
For more information, please contact Fiona on 07834772435.
Background
The hunger strikers have one,
simple, demand: that the Turkish Government complies with their own
constitution and international conventions on human rights and ends the
isolation of imprisoned Kurdish leader, Abdullah Öcalan. The first hunger
striker was Leyla Güven, a Kurdish MP and political prisoner in Turkey, but
there are now over 250 people on indefinite hunger strike in Turkish jails, and
across the world. A hunger strike is an action of last resort, only taken when
the world refuses to listen.
Öcalan is recognised as their
leader by millions of Kurds, and you don’t have to be Kurdish to recognise the
huge impact of his ideas in bringing democratic practices to Northern Syria,
building bridges between different ethnic groups and – especially – ensuring women
can take a full part in society. In the last two decades Öcalan has made
repeated attempts to negotiate a peaceful and respectful future for the Kurds
in Turkey, and the respect that he himself commands makes his role vital to any
peace settlement between the Kurds and the Turkish Government.
But Öcalan is being denied all
visits and cannot even see his lawyer or members of his family. This isolation
is recognised in law as a form of torture. In response to the hunger strikes,
the Turkish Government allowed Öcalan’s brother to visit him for 10 minutes. It
was hugely reassuring to know he is in good health, but this short visit does
not meet the basic human rights demand, and the strikes go on.