NEWS CENTER – For three days, this year’s Long March of revolutionary youth and militant young women has been taking place in Germany. Besides Kurdish youth and young women many internationalist youth and young women are also participating in the Long March this year, showing not only their solidarity with the Kurdistan Freedom Movement, but also their attachment to Chairman Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in severe isolation in the Type E maximum security prison in Imrali since 1999.
Especially now, the attacks on the chairman are at their peak and it is all the more important that the youth in particular stand up for his physical freedom and against the isolation, which has continued at an ever-increasing rate for the past 23 years. Since March 25, 2021, all contact and information about Rêber Apo has been missing, as the fascist regime of AKP-MHP has stopped any attempts to contact Rêber Apo with flimsy reasons, or simply does not even respond to the many requests of the lawyers and relatives.
The Kurdish and internationalist youth can no longer accept this state of affairs and, with their participation in this year’s Long March, are campaigning for the release of Rêber Apo, who has opened the eyes of so many people and especially young women with his philosophy. Yesterday, on the day of the Long March, our reporter Seher Deniz went among the activists and asked them why they are participating in this year’s Long March.
Many different youths and young women from different parts of the world are standing up for Rêber Apo’s physical freedom and have come together in the Long March of Revolutionary Youth currently underway to show their solidarity with Chairman Abdullah Ocalan and protest against Rêber Apo’s ongoing isolation torture and imprisonment in the heart of the capitalist beast, Europe.
One of those who will be at this year’s Long March in support of Rêber Apo’s physical freedom is the young internationalist Quana. In an interview with our moderator Deniz Seher, she explained the background of her participation and also pointed out the importance of it.
The interview went as follows:
“Hello I’m Quana, I’m originally from Argentina and I currently live in Berlin and I’m part of the youth commune Şehid Sara Dorşin.”
What is your goal today at the Long March and when did you join ?
“Today is the second day of the Long March, today we are running from Duisburg to Krefeld, our goal today is of course to continue to protest for the freedom of Serokatî and to participate in this. To show our power to the state that supports the imprisonment of Serokatî.”
It is now soon the anniversary of the plot against Serok. Just in this framework, can you formulate a message why we are marching right now, what is our concern?
“This international conspiracy is not only against Serok, but in general against the democratic modernity that we are trying to build together and when we talk about democratic federalism. And that is why it is important now on this anniversary, that is the 23rd anniversary of the plot, we as Internationalist Youth but also as Kurdish Youth to come together here today, because exactly these ideas of Democratic Confederalism, grassroots democracy, ecology and women’s liberation are close to our hearts. It’s not just a plot against him as a man or as a Rêber, but just as a whole movement we are involved with it.”
Why is it especially important as young women to protest and participate here?
“Because this is the first socialist revolution that has women as its center. It’s very simple. I think quite a lot of the masterminds of Marxism, Leninism and all the other ideologies that preceded socialism, so to speak, never took into account that women are the most oppressed class of all. I think that’s exactly why it’s important to be here today. Above all, to raise awareness, as a young woman, to take the strength to say I’m here and it’s important that I’m here. To take the space.”
After all, we are marching here as part of the offensive “Werin Cenga Azadiyê”- Come to the struggle for freedom – what is the significance of that?
“I think for me it has a lot to do with the fact that the Kurdish movement has created something that no movement does nowadays. Solidarity simply life. I don’t see that in any other movement, I come from the radical left and there solidarity is an empty word. I think “Werin Cenga Azadiyê” is exactly the opposite of that, it is a “Let’s fight for freedom”, in the name of solidarity, in the name of internationalism, in the name of we all stand together no matter where we come from. Werin Cenga Azadiyê!”
Another young women participating in the Long March as internationalist activists is Larissa, who told our news agency:
“Hello I’m Larissa and I’m from Wuppertal and today I’m participating in the Long March for the freedom of Abdullah Ocalan. We are on the street today and we are walking a very long distance for the whole day to demonstrate for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan so that he will be released from solitary confinement. He has been in solitary confinement on the prison island of Imrali since 1999.
Abdullah Öcalan has a great significance for us. Especially for us as young women, because he gave us a tool with the ideology of democratic conducionalism, how we can free ourselves from the patriarchal society. Therefore, it is a great concern for us to demonstrate here today and together side by side to show Germany that we do not find this okay and that there are people who are interested in this and that this cannot simply be swept under the carpet. Werin Cenga Azadiyê!”
NC // Deniz Seher
