The “Democracy and Freedom” rally organized by the Democratic Institutions Platform demanding the freedom of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan was marked by slogans in favor of Abdullah Öcalan. Speakers participating in the rally once again pointed to İmralı for the solution of the Kurdish issue.

 

The highlights of the rally are as follows:

 

* Women participated in the rally with yellow, red and green streamers.

 

* Women entered the rally with the banner “Li hemberê tecrîdê jin li ber xwe didin/Women resist against isolation”.

 

* At the rally, the following banners were displayed: “The solution and the interlocutor are both clear”, “Isolation continues”, “Everything for freedom”, “Slav tên ji roj'ê em pey te ne her gavê/ Greetings from the Sun. We are always behind you” and ‘We believe in theoretical and practical power’ banners stood out.

 

* “The solution and the interlocutor are both clear” was carried by an 80-year-old uncle.

 

* Mehmet Öcalan, the brother of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, participated in the rally.

 

* The slogans “Bijî serok Apo (Long live Leader Apo)”, “PKK is the people, the people are here” and “Bi can bi xwîn em bi te re ne ey Serok (With life and blood we are with Leader)” never stopped.

 

* The oft-banned song “Berxwedan jiyane, serhildan jiyane (Resistance is life)” was sung.

 

* Êlih Co-Mayor Gülistan Sönük, who was elected with 65 percent of the vote, took a selfie with the young people.

 

* Among the speakers, Ayla Akat Ata, member of the Justice for Isolation Initiative and TJA activist, drew great interest. Taking the stage with the slogan “Jin, jiyan, azadî”, Ata said: “Open that door, this people want to hear Mr. Öcalan's voice. This people want to hear the voice of everyone who will speak for a solution.”  Her words were responded with the slogans ‘Bijî Serok Apo’.

 

* DBP Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır pointed to the Kurdish struggle and said: “This struggle will ensure the freedom of Mr. Öcalan and the solution of the Kurdish issue.”

 

* Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları called for “Open the Imrali gates”.

 

* Women stood out at the rally with their white headscarves, national clothes and slogans such as “Co-mayorship is our red line” and “Jin, jiyan, azadî”. Like themselves, women also brought their children to the rally dressed in local clothes.

 

* Teacher Sibel Suna, who was released after being detained in Êlih during the trustee protests, and the mother of Yusuf Kaya, who made the agenda with his words during the protests and was subjected to torture, also took part in the rally.

 

* 61-year-old Süleyman Salğucak in Şirnex (Şırnak), whose words “Speak, where are you from?” against the intervention of soldiers and police officers against the will of the people in the March 31 elections, were represented with the banner “Trustee, speak up, where are you from?” in the rally area.

 

* Participants of the rally from Kurdistan cities overcame the obstacles and reached the area by walking from the city entrances. On the main roads, citizens came with determination accompanied by the slogans “We will win if we resist”.

 

* After the rally, the youth marched in two columns and responded to the police attack. During the march, the youth chanted slogans such as “Our line is Bêritan, our leader is Öcalan”, “Bijî serok Apo”.