Celik: Gains achieved through paying a price must be defended

img

NEWS DESK - Naime Celik, who was on a hunger strike for 87 days against the isolation in Imrali, stressed that the true architect of the success was the mothers who continued  their resistance throughout the protest and called to defend the gains.

The hunger strikes that started under the lead of DTK Co-chair Leyla Guven and spread throughout prisons and abroad with participation from thousands of prisoners demanding an end to the isolation imposed upon PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan were ended on May 26 with Ocalan’s call after he met with his lawyers for the first time in 8 years.
 
Naime Celik, who had joined the indefinite nonalternating hunger strike in the Diyarbakir Type E Prison on March 1, was released from the prison she was held for 2 years and 6 months on March 28 and continued her hunger strike in her home in the Muradiye neighborhood of the Baglar district with her family.
 
Celik ended her hunger strike on May 26 on Ocalan’s call and was released from the hospital after receiving treatment. ANF met with Celik at home after her 87 day long hunger strike. Celik spoke about Ocalan’s message and stressed that their resistance will continue.
 
Celik thanked the mothers who resisted alongside them during the hunger strikes and the Kurdish people in general, and stated that the true architect of the success was the mothers with white scarves.
 
“THE MAIN ISSUE IS WHAT COMES NEXT”
 
Celik said the hunger strikes started under the lead of Leyla Guven and spread in waves, to finally conclude in victory, and added that their resistance was not reported on in the media except for the free press tradition, but they managed to make their voice heard despite the lack of opportunities.
 
Celik said the protest spreading over a long time caused the deterioration of the health of many prisoners and many prisoners turning their protest into a death fast, and added that several people ended their lives to end the Imrali isolation.
 
Celik said the mothers took action when reaction to the process was delayed and that they remained on the streets despite the violence they were subjected to every day: “All women who had enough of the silence rose up to support our action.
 
I wish it had been done much earlier. I wish action was taken before 8 of our friends took their own lives and the health of hunger strikers deteriorated this far. Unfortunately that did not happen. The protest spread throughout time.
 
Friends have suffered permanent damages to their health. Yes we won, this is a victory. But the main issue is what comes next. It is important how our people will support this gain. The gains achieved through paying a price must be defended.”
 
“THE MESSAGE INCLUDES PROPOSALS FORESEEING THE FUTURE”
 
Celik said Ocalan’s message is a hope for all peoples and added that the message is also important for the intensity of thought and emotion it includes as it evokes excitement. Celik concluded saying: “Mr. Ocalan is a man with a big heart. We know that he would suffer a lot if one of his comrades were to lose one strand of hair. 
 
Ocalan makes decisions after thinking of the peoples and his comrades. With the message he sent, he first saluted the hunger strikers and then left the decision to end or continue the protest to them. Because he knew that this resistance belongs to all of us.
 
And he wanted the best for all of us. We knew that his message urging us to stop includes foresight into the future, and we trusted him, so we ended our protest.”

View More Articles

14/03/2020
09:49 'Third path is the HDP'
09:28 Baghdad-Istanbul plane made an emergency landing to Ankara
09:27 Forced medical intervention to Mustafa Koçak on death fast
09:25 Gül: Prison visits suspended for two weeks
09:25 Trump declares national emergency over coronavirus
09:23 World Health Organization: Europe is the epicenter of coronavirus now
09:22 Koca: Confirmed coronavirus cases increased to 5
13/03/2020
16:33 Günay: Let's celebrate Newroz on May Day
14:25 Attorneys, their clients and the prison guards under custody
14:03 CHP's Ceyhan Municipality Mayor Aydar removed from duty
14:03 Visiters ban at the parliament
14:02 Aksaray Prison Director: I am the prime minister and the president of this place
12:09 Paralyzed prisoner not release for being 'dangerous for society'
12:08 Police taking pictures of the people coming to the Kurdish language association
12:06 Health Minister: Another coronavirus patient diagnosed from the circle of the first patient
12:06 HRW to Iran: Release the political prisoners
12:05 Presidential Spokesperson Kalın: The schools are closed as of March 16 due to coronavirus
12:05 Newroz celebrations canceled over Coronavirus threat
12/03/2020
15:35 Retired Hrant Dink case defendant intelligence officer executed
15:30 Attorneys applied to visit İmralı
15:30 HDP building attacked in Ankara
14:24 Reaction to the detention of lawyers: Defense can not be silenced
14:23 Police operation against lawyers: 12 under custody
14:23 6 years 3 months prison sentence to İHD MYK member Raci Bilici
14:22 Dr. Güngör: Test centers are insufficient
14:22 Kurdish parties: We should flock to Newroz with the spirit of national unity
09:43 State of Emergency declared for coronavirus in Slovakia and Washington
09:42 World Health Organization declares coronavirus pandemic
09:41 Cizre Co-Mayor taken into custody
09:40 Prisoners tortured and put in solitary confinement
09:35 'Newroz for unity'
11/03/2020
19:19 The most fascinating thing in India since independence: Muslim women hit the streets
16:54 Prosecutor requests up to 15 years of prison sentence for Journalist Karataş
15:48 Newroz celebrations kick off in Diyarbakır with call for national unity
15:47 TEV-DEM commends 2004 Qamishlo uprising
13:25 Gergerlioğlu: Virus can spread in prisons if measures are not taken
13:21 Ferhat Çelik: Our arrest decision was political
13:17 First Newroz fire lit in Mardin
13:16 Authorities threaten to force feed Grup Yorum hunger strikers Gökçek and Bölek
13:15 They filled the shroud's top with plastic bags to keep it from being noticed
13:15 Kavala: The fact that the judiciary violates the laws is terrifying
10:16 Pentagon: Turkey can't recieve Patriot missiles unless it returns S-400s
10:13 Students can't get by without working
10:11 Minister of Health announces first confirmed coronavirus case in Turkey
10:09 Prison sentence requested for Sur Municipality Co-Mayor Özdemir
10/03/2020
14:50 Journalists calling out from the courthouse: What are you hiding from the public?
14:29 Unemployement rate hits 13,7
12:36 Attorneys applied to visit İmralı
12:36 Threat messages to 8 HDP MPs from an account called JITEM
12:35 Reaction against the arrest of the journalists: What changed in a day?