NEWS CENTER - Thousands of people who are on the roads for “Freedom” rally to be held in Amed and were prevented by the police turned every place into an area of resistance.
A rally will be organized in Amed (Diyarbakır) today under the slogan, “We resist against the conspiracy, we meet in Amed for freedom” led by the Democratic Institutions Platform. Thousands of people took to the roads to come to Amed from different cities. The police prevented the citizens on the grounds of “ban” decisions taken by the governorates. Sit-in protests were organized in the cities where they were prevented.
ÊLIH
Hundreds of people who wanted to come to Amed from Êlih (Batman) were prevented on the grounds of the governorate's ban order. Citizens were stopped at the exit of the city and demanded to see the governorate's ban order. The police officers claimed that the ban had been communicated verbally.
Citizens blocked the street and started a sit-in protest. “Herne Pêş (Kurdish resistance anthem)” The citizens sang the anthem and frequently chanted slogans such as “We will win if we resist”, “Repression will not deter us” and “Bijî berxwedana zindanan (Long live resistance of dungeons)”.
DEM Party Êlih Provincial Co-Chair Mustafa Mesut Tekik pointed out that their democratic rights were being prevented “There is lawlessness here. The decision of the Amed Governorate is not valid in Êlih. Our right to travel is being prevented” he said.
The citizens' protest continues.
SÊRT
Citizens on their way from Sêrt (Siirt) were stopped at the exit of the city. Reacting to the situation, citizens stopped to halay for “freedom”. People of Sêrt halayed with the melodies they sang. The wait continues.
AMED/BISMIL
Citizens who reached Amed from Elkê (Beytüşşebap) district of Şirnex (Şırnak) gathered at Şêx Seîd (Dağkapı) Square in Sûr district in the morning. Citizens were forced into vehicles by the police and taken to Üçyol, where the roads of Êlih, Amed and Mêrdîn intersect. Citizens continue to wait here. Reacting to the situation and expressing their desire to attend the rally, Makbule Aşan said: “We are after our cause. We will hold our rally, no one can prevent us. Everyone from Mersin and Adana is coming for the freedom rally. We do not accept these obstacles and you cannot prevent us. We do not accept this bullying. We want peace. We will resist. Long live Kurdistan”
WAN
In Wan (Van), hundreds of people gathered at İpek Park in Rêya Armûşê (İpekyolu) district. People including MPs, co-mayors of municipalities and representatives of non-governmental organizations started a sit-in protest against the police barrier. The slogans “We will win if we resist”, “Bîjî Serok Apo (Long live Leader Apo)”, “Shoulder to shoulder against fascism” and “No to war, peace now” were chanted throughout the sit-in.
Speaking at the protest, DEM Party Provincial Co-Chair Veysi Dilekçi said: “This denial of permission means being against peace. The deepening isolation system in İmralı today is against the law. It has no place in neither domestic nor international law. In order to solve all issues, especially the Kurdish issue, the isolation on Mr. Öcalan must be end as soon as possible. In order to solve all Middle Eastern issues, negotiations with Mr. Öcalan must begin.”
'MR. ÖCALAN IS THE INTERLOCUTOR'
DEM Party Wan MP Gülcan Kaçmaz Sayyiğit said: “You knew that hundreds of thousands would attend the rally and you were afraid of it. But I swear that the Kurds did not bow down to you. The friends of the Kurds will not bow down to you either. Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, who has not been heard from for 43 months, is the first person to be taken as an interlocutor for peace. You are trying to isolate every aspect of life. We will resist against this. We will continue our struggle until there is an honorable peace in these lands. You banned the Amed rally, but everywhere is Amed for us. Everywhere is a site of resistance. The governor of this land is not above the law of this country.”
Peace Mothers also reacted to the ban.