STRUGGLES

Every day our party [the HDP] did interviews on the TV saying "don’t be provoked". People
listened but the police continued their provocation. After that Abdullah Öcalan sent a
message to people in Cizîr to stop the demonstrations. Hatip Dicle, chiefofthe DTK [the
Democratic Society Congress, an organisation which aims to establish democratic autonomy
in North Kurdistan], came to Cizîr and read Öcalan’s statement. We were awaiting Öcalan’s
message and it was a signal for us, it said to ‘stop’ so people opened the barricades. But even
before Hatip Dicle arrived back in Amed another young person died. 12 year old Nihat
Kazanhan was killed by a police gun – police used a shotgun and shot him in the head.
CW: What can people do in solidarity from outside Kurdistan?
voices from the struggles for freedom in bakur
What the Turkish military and police are doing is not only against the Kurdish people, it's
against all the people in the world. We want people to give us a voice against this attack on
our people. In Rojava there are many people from the UK, Europe and other countries
fighting for the YPJ and YPG [the armed forces ofRojava]. We think that people in the UK
have a voice to tell the truth about what the Turkish government is doing.
CW: Do you think that people should try to stop the supply ofarms to the Turkish police and army?
An army is not for genocide, not for killing civilians, the army should only
be used for defence. But the government has used the army for genocide
against the Kurdish people. When companies sell weapons to the Turkish
police and army they are complicit in this genocide so they need to stop. You
can sell something to a government for defence, but ifyou know that this
government uses its weapons for genocide or attacks on other countries or
civilians then you are a part ofthe genocide.
*The interviewee's name has been changed.
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