MERSİN - Çukurova TUAY-DER Co-chair Metin İnce emphasized that the Imrali isolation and the Kurdish issue is the problem of the whole country and asked the public to support the actions of the relatives of the prisoners.

 

The absolute isolation in Imrali Type F High Security Prison, where PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş are held imprisoned, is in its 39th month. There has been no news from Imrali since Abdullah Öcalan's intermittent phone call with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on March 25, 2021. The campaign launched at the global level with demands for the end of the isolation, the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and the solution of the Kurdish issue continues.

 

Prisoners in prisons started a hunger strike as part of the campaign on November 27, 2023. Prisoners took their protests to a new level on April 4, turning them into a boycott of family and phone calls and not appearing in court. Relatives of prisoners holding Justice Watches in many cities are now shouting out their demands with the "Speak up for freedom" action. 

Çukurova TUAY-DER Co-chair Metin İnce

 

Metin İnce, Co-chair of Çukurova Association for Assistance with Families of Detainees and Convicts (Çukurova TUAY-DER), which led the action of the relatives of prisoners, evaluated the actions.

 

'ISOLATION IS A PROBLEM FOR ALL PEOPLE'

 

Emphasizing that all public opinion should give voice to the protests, İnce stated that their main goal is to first abolish the isolation. İnce pointed out that they have not heard from the prisoners in Imrali for 39 months and said: "Isolation is a crime. It is a crime according to the Constitution. Unfortunately, the constitution is also being violated. Breaking the isolation, bringing rights and law, and solving the Kurdish issue are among our main goals. Currently, many of our friends are in prison because they want peace and express their opinions. One of the examples of this is the Kobanê Conspiracy Case, which was decided recently. A peace process started with Mr. Abdullah Öcalan in 2013. All people living in this country need to look at that period. The country's economy had improved, people were living comfortably and peacefully. This problem is the problem of all people living in Turkey. We believe in this. We say that if the Kurdish issue is solved, there will be no problems in this country."

 

'WE WILL EXPAND OUR ACTION PROCESS'

 

Emphasizing that the isolation problem is not just the problem of the Kurds but the problem of the whole country, İnce criticized the opposition parties' attitude towards it. İnce said: "The whole world public knows very well that Mr. Öcalan is the sole interlocutor of the Kurdish issue in this country. The aim of the AKP-MHP fascist regime is clear; Their entire policy is to keep themselves alive through the Kurdish issue. We do not want the Turkish mother, the Kurdish mother, or the Arab mother to cry. For this, the isolation imposed on Mr. Öcalan must be abolished. At this point, we will further expand our action process.”