Letter from jailed mayor of Derik

Ça?lar Demirel calls on people to stay united and stand up for their rights
We publish the letter from Ça?lar Demirel, jailed mayor of Derik, on hunger strike since 26 October 2012.

“Kurds have seen their rights usurped for years. Yet the people has never stepped back from struggling to reclaim their rights. Kurds, who never surrendered despite oppression and slaughter they witnessed, stand up proudly today, supporting their demands with a clear and principled struggle.

The AKP government does not stop using violence against those supporting the demands of Kurds and of Kurdish political prisoners. I know that the Kurdish people and the people of Mardin will reclaim their will and demands despite those attacks. Although we, Kurdish politicians, have a limited room to manoeuvre because we are in fact hostages in prison, our faith and spirit are high thanks to the the people who give us strenght. In these days when our hunger striker comrades are struggling for life, I think that nobody should keep silence. History will not forgive those who turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the situation.
I call on all our people, women, youngsters, politicians, intellectuals, writers, artists and all the NGOs to lend an ear to this scream. I salute the women’s leading role in claiming our democratic rights as well as our people who are supporting these demands. On behalf of the Kurdish woman prisoners in Siirt Prison, I call on everyone to unite our voices for human dignity, by taking their share of responsibility and staying together to voice our demands.

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