Participants of the vigil, which started at the Pirsûs (Suruç)-Kobanê border against the attacks on North and East Syria and continued on its 15th day, evaluated the meeting of Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) MPs Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the discussions that took place.

 

Emine Şenyaşar, who attended the vigil despite her health problems and the cold weather, stated that her relatives live in North and East Syria and said, "This war must end. There should be justice for everyone. Everyone who is unjustly and unlawfully held in prisons should be released as soon as possible. There can be no peace without justice. What do they want from Kobanê? The people of Kobanê were living on this land a century and a thousand years ago. How long will this persecution continue? Mothers should come together and stop this persecution. I sat in front of courthouses and ministries for years against oppression. If mothers stand up and raise their voices together, this blood will stop."

 

SOLUTION DISCUSSIONS

 

Ahmet Karak (65) mentioned that there has been a hot war for more than 40 years and said, "Whenever they told us that 'there will be a solution', a game was played behind their backs. There can be no peace without a foundation. If you are talking about a solution, Mr Abdullah Öcalan should be free to share his ideas. If we are standing guard here against the attacks on Kobanê, it means that something is wrong. The way to an honourable peace is through the physical freedom of Mr Öcalan. As long as this is not done, none of the words spoken will fulfil their purpose. It is impossible to take a step without Mr Öcalan. Any step other than Mr Öcalan's freedom would not be credible."

 

Stating that there are wars in many places in the Middle East, İbrahim Halil Kılıç stated that it is time for wars to be replaced by peace. Kılıç said, "Peace is more difficult than war" and added, "Our leader is currently imprisoned. Some negotiations are being held, but we want to hear what he says from his mouth. He should be free so that we know what he says. Now they are talking about laying down arms; but our Leader is still imprisoned. Many of our friends are currently in prison unlawfully. Political prisoners should be released as soon as possible."

 

'THERE CAN BE NO PEACE WHILE THERE IS WAR'

 

Expressing that a solution to the Kurdish issue is inevitable, Reşat Yıldız (63) said, "For this to happen, political prisoners must be released, especially the Leader. There can be no peace while there is war. There is talk of peace but there are threats to attack Kobanê. Can there be peace like this? Pirsûs and Kobanê are one."

 

Halil Demir (58), who participated in the vigil, said, “An honorable peace is possible with the Leader (Abdullah Öcalan). We cannot be expected to be free where our president is not free. We trust neither Erdoğan nor Bahçeli nor anyone else. We only trust the Leader. If our leader is free, then we can talk about peace.”  

 

Reminding that PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan had previously said “If conditions are provided, I will solve these problems in a week”, Demir continued his words as follows: “We believe and trust this. If he says he will solve it in a week, he will. We do not trust the Turkish state.”

 

'DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS MUST BE RECOGNIZED'

 

Underlining that peace is impossible as long as there are attacks against Kobanê, Mehmet İdi (54) emphasized that Pirsûs and Kobanê are one and said the following: “Artificial borders drawn in Lausanne a century ago cannot separate us. Kobanê means Pirsûs. Kurdistan is not four parts but one."

 

Recep Cızlak (61) emphasized that the physical freedom of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan is essential for a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue, “They need to talk to our leader. What have many political prisoners done inside? The way to an honorable peace is to talk to the interlocutors. We are the original elements of this land. We have been living on this land for thousands of years, we did not come from anywhere else,” he said.  

 

'A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM MUST BE BUILT'

 

Mehmet Şefik Aksoy, a member of the Democratic Islamic Congress (DIK) who came to Pirsûs from Sêrt (Siirt) against the attacks in North and East Syria, said: “We advocate equality among all peoples. We want to live as all peoples live. For 40 years blood has been flowing and there is no solution. This is possible with an honorable peace. There is equality in Islam. Islam says 'You are all brothers'.”

 

DEM Party Riha Provincial Co-Chair Sema Aişeoğlu said: “Governments that do not give up war can never establish peace. There is only one way; a democratic system that will keep all identities, beliefs and peoples together must be built. This is possible with the idea of the DEM Party. There is a regime in Damascus, the minister they appointed is a woman killer. On the other hand, there is a Rojava revolution led by women. While women are revolutionizing in Rojava, there is a mentality in Damascus that executes women. No one should expect us to accept this.”