BY TONY HUNT AND DEBBIE DELANGE
LONDON - In a huge expression of anger at the kidnapping
of Abdullah Ocalan and of the long denial of their national
rights, more than 5,000 Kurds and their supporters marched
through the governmental district here February 20.
The boisterous protest by men, women, and children of all ages demanded freedom for Ocalan, the release of Kurdish demonstrators arrested earlier that week by British police, and the right of the Kurdish people to a homeland. "We shall fight, we shall win, viva viva Kurdistan!" "Yesterday Vietnam, Today Kurdistan!" and "Turkey terrorist, USA terrorist, Israel terrorist," were among the chants in English and Kurdish.
Supporters of the fight for Irish freedom were warmly received at the demonstration, carrying a banner consisting of an Irish tricolor with the words "Troops Out Now!" referring to the occupying British troops in Northern Ireland.
Many demonstrators carried pictures of the captured leader of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) or wore PKK emblems on their clothing. Other banners and placards included "Release Kurdish political prisoners," "Stop arm sales to Turkey," and "Kurds betrayed by Europe."
Many of the marchers were young. Cigdem Akpinar, 15, among a group of young women, told the Militant, "We want freedom for our country. We want the Turkish government to take their hands off our lands. We want to speak our own language and use Kurdish names."
Seyhan Coban, 26, a Turkish student living here, marched with her Kurdish friend. "I support the rights of the Kurdish people. I am human, this is a march for freedom."
The demonstration was the culmination of a week of protests outside the Greek embassy in London. Seventy-seven Kurdish protesters occupied it February 15 and took a hostage, blaming the Greek government for complicity in the capture of Ocalan. At one point more than 1,000 people gathered outside in support. The occupiers gave themselves up to police February 18 and released the hostage unharmed. The 77 were held by police under the reactionary Prevention of Terrorism Act, a law originally passed to victimize Irish people in the 1970s. Nine Kurdish fighters remained in custody February 20 after court hearings.
A majority of the marchers February 20 appeared to come from the section of the Kurdish nation under Turkish military occupation. There were contingents from different Kurdish and Turkish political groups as well as the PKK, such as the Kurdish Socialist Party. One marcher Ibrahim Rebwar told the Militant, "I'm from Iraqi Kurdistan, there are Kurds here from Syria and Iran, and there are different political organizations. But the kidnapping of Ocalan has united all of us. Our struggle is the same, we all face repression of our language and our schools. We are on the march to express our anger. The democratic countries of Europe are hypocrites. None would give Ocalan refuge when he asked for it. He has no hope of a fair trial in Turkey."
Soran Hamarash, 31, also from Iraqi Kurdistan, said, "I'm here with my mother, who is 70 years old. We are 30 million people with no status, no right of expression as a nation. We want basic human rights. This is the anger of centuries and of the last 70 years of massacres, which no one knows about."