Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Presidential Council Member Elif Ronahi was a special guest at Dengê Welat radio for the anniversary of 15 February 1999, when Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan was imprisoned.
She discussed the ongoing hunger strike in Turkey’s prisons, which has now reached its 73rd day.
“Our friends in the prisons, the Kurdish people, the Kurdish women, know very well that our leader has the power to stop fascism, and that is why they have continued their resistance for more than two months”, she said. “I believe that this struggle will surely succeed”.
According to Hawarnews report, she added that if the isolation of Öcalan is not lifted, fascism will continue to be a threat not only for the Kurds but for the whole of the Middle East.
Ronahî also drew attention to the attacks against Kurdish politicians in Turkey. “They were arrested for rejecting the state’s offer of collaboration and resisting the oppressive politics of Turkey”, she said.
The silence of the opposition
Ronahî criticised the silence of the main opposition, the Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), regarding the strikes in prisons. “The CHP is afraid of making a basic statement about thousands of people who are resisting tyranny in prisons, and yet they still call themselves the opposition”, she said.
She also pointed out the fact that the media loyal to the opposition is also remaining silent about the Kurdish issue. “They are scared of being punished by the RTUK [Radio and Television Supreme Council]. But if they publish news about the hunger strikes, they will contribute to the democratic future of Turkey”, she said.
She referenced the previous hunger strike that was initiated under the leadership of Leyla Guven in 2018. “Turkey had to step back after those strikes because the state saw the power of Kurdish people”, she said.
She also called for Kurdish people and democrats to continue to resist and support the strikers in prisons. “Fascism collapses with the struggle. In this sense, the Kurdish people and all democrats should fight everywhere, especially in Northern Kurdistan. There is nothing that the Kurdish people cannot achieve as long as they struggle in an organized way”.