The Presidency of the KCK Executive Council / FINAL STATEMENT ON HUNGER STRIKE

To the Media and General Public : 21.11.2012 – Our imprisoned comrades embarked on a hunger strike within groups since 12 September 2012 and the hunger strike continued non-stop for the past 67 days. Our comrades solely began the hunger strike with their own free will and decision. The demands and aim of their resistance are known by the general public.

Hunger strikes are not the same as hunger strikes with the intent of death. Because the latter continues until all the demands are met whereas hunger strikes may end upon some of the demands being met or that there is enough awareness created within the society or the attention of the general public is captured. Therefore one can say that the resistance in the prisons has achieved its goal. The resistance has now been taken over by our movement and people. 

The hunger strike which continued with a very strong willpower and determination created a serious agenda within the society. Just as much, the government and state officials too have understood the seriousness of the hunger strikers and despite without their intentions and thus albeit unwillingly have taken some steps.

The hunger strikes have made a significant effect in all four parts of Kurdistan, abroad and especially in Europe. Our people united around political and national unity and have adopted the demands of the strikers as their own. Thus tens and hundreds of thousands of people have joined the actions for these demands. During these days of resistance each day an action was staged to protest against colonialism. Many national and international organizations and institutions agreed that the demands of the hunger strikers were reasonable demands that can be realized and thus showed their support.  The support and awareness shown by the friends of the Kurdish people in Turkey; all the revolutionaries, democrats and those who were for human dignity were all very meaningful and precious.  

The resistance of the prisons has successfully concluded upon the call made by the Kurdish People’s Leader. The Kurdish People’s leader has made this call because of the responsibility he felt for the peoples. From now on all the responsibility falls on the state and government. We announce that we shall totally adhere to the call made by our leader Apo and we too request that our comrades end their hunger strike.

We would like to respectfully salute all our imprisoned comrades with the same spirit of resistance that led to their 67 honorable days of resistance without hesitation in order to lift the isolation imposed on our leader and for the freedom of our people. They have displayed a will power that surpasses being human.

We would also like to commend the courageous people in all four parts of Kurdistan for their insubordinate stance and call on them to continuously further their resistance.

We also salute all our friends within the international arena and from Turkey; the revolutionaries, democrats, intellectuals, artists, students, women and those with faith that have supported this resistance in the prisons.

Once again we would like to commend all the intellectuals and artists from Kurdistan and the Kurdish ones because of the national unity and freedom stance they displayed.

The call of our leader Apo’s call has become our call. This resistance has played its role and reached its goal. The Kurdish People’s Leader has yet again demonstrated his will power for a solution. Now the responsibility rests on the state and government. It is for certain that we shall continue to raise our struggle until our people and leader Apo are free in a continuous, decisive and radical manner no matter where we are.