Kurd’s Sitdown Strike Has Started In Diyarbakir

Urgent Statement From Peace And Democracy Party

Peace and Democracy Party (Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi or BDP) and Democratic Society Congress (Demokratik Toplum Kongresi or DTK), have called the people to indefinite sit-down strike in Diyarbakir on 24 March 2011. DTK and BDP is also informed the public opinion about reason of the strike. According to the declaration, BDP and DTK announced four basic demands;

1. Stop military and political operations immediately.

2. Education in the mother tongue and providing constitutional guarantees for using the mother tongue in the public sphere.

3. Removing the 10% electoral threshold which hinders the representation of Kurdish People in the Assembly.

4. Releasing all political prisoners.

While BDP starts to preparation for the huge democratic civil disobedience action, AKP started to prevent the Kurds’ legitimate willpower. Police have attacked to people who stay in the Democratic Solution Tents in the middle of the night. In addition to this, tents were removed harshly by the police and the sit down strike is banned by the AKP Governor.

In the morning, when BDP and DTK representatives and thousands of people came to the sit down strike square, their way was blockaded by the police. After the negotiations between the city governor and BDP and DTK representatives, only representatives and mayors are allowed to come in the square. Despite of the state’s preventions and threats, Kurds are continuously coming from all districts of the city. Only co-president, deputies and mayors are sitting down in the demonstration square and police is preventing for contact between the people and representatives. Police is blockading the city, action forces and hundreds of police officers are positioning in front of the square where the sit down strike is taking place. Police vehicles, including panzers, positioned at the entrances and exits of all streets surrounding the sit down strike square. The police also cut the traffic of the city center. To prevent people from participating the sit down strike, police is making ID control and body search. Despite of all these blockades’ of the government, the action is taking place with a great determination.

BDP Co-president Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş and DTK co-president Mr. Ahmet Türk, in their statements called to AKP Government’s PM Erdogan to reply these four democratic demands of the Kurdish People. Co-presidents also called the international public opinion to be sensitive of the Kurdish People and for take in the consideration.

PEACE AND DEMOCRACY PARTY

FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

24 MARCH 2011

Addres: Barış Manço Cad. 1388. Sok. No:37 Balgat / Ankara Tel: 0090 312 220 1950 Fax: 0090 312 220 1977 Foreign Affairs Department: diplo.bdp@hotmail.com