Shengal (Sinjar)- Kurdish people, their friends and people defending freedom and democracy have held protests, demonstrations and activities all around the world to demand freedom of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. A five day tent protest was launched in Shengal’s Dugure village on December 21 by the Shenagl Young Women’s Union and the Yazidi Youth Union for freedom of Adbullah Öcalan. The tent protest ended yesterday. During the five-day tent protest, members of the many organizations and institutions of the Autonomous Administration and women’s movements visited the tent to express their support and demand freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.

At the exhibition held as part of the tent protest, the books and photographs of Abdullah Öcalan were displayed and video about the international conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan was screened. On the last day of the tent protest, people of Shengal said that they will continue to hold protests, demonstrations and marches until Abdullah Öcalan achieves his freedom.

‘We will not take even a step back’

The Shengal Young Women’s Union and the Yazidi Youth Union issued a press statement yesterday. Emphasizing that the Yazidi community will always take actions until the physical freedom of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan is ensured and guaranteed, the statement said, “Everyone knows very well that wherever there is an oppressed society, leader Apo's fighters are there and they support them. And we are one of the communities saved by fighters during the genocide against us. The greater our struggle, the more attacks will be carried out against us. The massacre in Paris proves this. But the enemy must know that we, as Yazidi community, will not take even a step back from our struggle. We will stand firm until leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) is released from Imrali prison.”

Ala Xidir, one of the members of the Shengal Young Women’s Union, told NuJINHA that they launched the tent protest in order to draw attention of the Yazidi community and the world to the aggravated isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali. “We have received no news from our leader for 22 months. As the Yazidi community, we are aware of our rights thanks to the ideology of our leader. Since we began to learn more about his ideology and thoughts, our community has experienced many changes. We, as young Yazidis, will always defend the rights of our leader. This tent protest is insufficient for the freedom of our leader. We will fulfill our responsibilities for the freedom of our leader,” Ala Xidir said.

‘We will do everything that needs to be done for his freedom’

In an interview with NuJINHA, Hediya Xero, member of the Yazidi Free Women's Movement (Kurdish: Tevgera Azadiya Jinên Êzîdî-TAJÊ), drew attention to the massacre against Kurds in Paris on December 23 and said that the attacks on Kurds increase as the Kurds resist more. Speaking about the tent protest, she said that women from all nations and religions visited the tent to support the protest. “We will do everything that needs to be done for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. Leader Apo made great efforts for the Yazidi community. We owe him a lot. The enemies of society demanding freedom do not accept defeat. For this reason, an aggravated isolation has been imposed upon Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali. For this reason, they have carried out brutal attacks on the Kurdish people in four parts of Kurdistan. But they cannot break the will of free societies. We are determined to struggle. We will struggle for our freedom and the freedom of our leader to the end.”