Thousands of people watched the historic call of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan on the giant screens set up in Amed (Diyarbakır) Sheikh Said Square with the slogans "Bijî Serok Apo (Long live Leader Apo)". The Peace Mothers, who were among the people who watched the screen, said that they were behind the call. 

 

Selma Demir, 60, one of the mothers who came to Amed from Hezex (İdil) district of Şirnex (Şırnak), said: "We came for peace. We want peace. We want peace in Rojava and all four parts of Kurdistan. Kurds should be together. The victory will be Kurdish. If our leader is free, we will be free too."

 

Fatma Acar, 64, from the centre of Şirnex said, "We came from Şirnex to heed the call of our leader. Everyone who came here came for peace. We only want peace. We want the brotherhood of peoples. Let there be Kurdish and Turkish brotherhood. Let's come together and sit together. For 26 years our Leader has been defending a people alone. He is doing this for both Kurds and Turks. We are here for his historic call. Now the Turkish state authorities should do their part so that peace can come." 

 

Nesime Temiz, 58, who came from Xana Axpar (Çınar) to listen to the call and described 27 February as the first day of good days and said, "Today is the first day of good days. We came here with great morale and enthusiasm. Everything will be better. This call is a good news for us."

 

‘WE WANT THE FREEDOM OF OUR LEADER’

 

Justice Çay, 65, a Peace Mother from Riha, said, "We want our leader to be free. He must be among us too. We want everyone in the dungeons to be released. We call on all states to take action for the freedom of our Leader. Today is a historic and beautiful day. The day when our Leader will be among us will be even more historic and beautiful than this day."

 

Peace Mother Naile Altmış, 63, said, "Today is a historic day. The day when our leader will be among us is near. As Kurds, we want to live equally like every other people. We want no one to be bullied for speaking Kurdish anymore. The way should be paved for all our friends in prisons to be with us as soon as possible."

 

‘TODAY IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL DAY’

 

Emine Kalkış, 62, who came from Silopi (Silopi) district of Şirnex, emphasised that she had difficulty in expressing her feelings and said, "Today is a very beautiful day. The historical statement is being read now. Our excitement is overwhelming. Everyone should listen to this historic call and do what is necessary. We are very happy to receive news from our leader. We want our leader to be with us. Like every right, we have the right to live with our Leader."

 

Nazime Boltan, 60 said, "As Kurds, we have come to heed the call of our Leader. We are committed to this cause until the end. May this call be blessed to us Kurds. We need to join hands and wage a greater struggle from now on. We must continue to increase the struggle until our leader is free."

 

Sakine Behçet, who came from Dîlok, said, "We have come for peace. Everything will be beautiful with peace. Every war ends with peace. How long will there be war? Bahçeli always wanted death for Kurds, but he could not achieve his goal. Today there is hope for peace. We hope for days when we will live in peace."

 

Peace Mother Fatma Akbaş, 65, who came from Riha (Urfa), said that they were happy with the message of peace and added, "We trust our Leader and the Kurdish Freedom Movement to the end. We couldn't sleep last night. We didn't sleep until the morning, wondering what he would say or do. But the message given made us happy. Let there be peace, but let it be a real and true peace. Let the mistakes of the past be avoided. No one should die anymore. If we want peace, we must first convince ourselves of this possibility. We do not trust the state, we believe in our Leader."