ISTANBUL - Seyri İpek, who participated in the "You Can't Darken Our Sun" action, which is the biggest condemnation the international conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan, stated that they formed a circle of resistance and said: "If there is to be a solution, Abdullah Öcalan must have freedom."

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who set out for a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem, became the target of international forces that implement the concept of destruction and denial against the Kurds. When the plan to destroy Abdullah Öcalan, put into effect under the coordination of the United States of America (USA), did not come true, this time a conspiracy plan was created to neutralize him. The international conspiracy, which started when Abdullah Öcalan left Syria on October 9, 1998, under the pressure of the US-led global powers on the Damascus government, was foiled when Abdullah Öcalan opened up to the world.

 

The Kurds, who were targeted by the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, left their mark on a new process with the stance they took against the conspiracy. Kurds, who formed a circle of fire around Abdullah Öcalan with their "You Can't Darken Our Sun" actions, gave a message of resistance against the international conspiracy.

 

YOU CANNOT DARK OUR SUN

 

The first stand-up of the Kurds, who started the serhil process against the international conspiracy, was the "You Cannot Darken Our Sun" protests. The action initiated by Mehmet Halit Oral, who lost his life by setting his body on fire in the prison in Mereş on the night of October 9, 1998, spread to Kurdistan, Turkey and all over the world, especially in prisons, and turned into great public resistance. Oral, who ignited the action, gave the following message in the letter he left: “My anger, grudge and revenge are great. However, I cannot vomit this against the enemy in the dungeon. I want to show my commitment to you once again with this action. I did not have the honor of seeing you. But I always felt you in my heart. Undoubtedly, my action will not make the Republic of Turkey take a step back. But they will see very well that if the slightest harm comes to you, all our people will make the world a prison for them. Because, if we are mentioned in this world today and they consider us as something, it is entirely the result of your great labor and efforts.”

 

The protests, which spread to prisons, continued in front of the parliament building in Moscow, the capital of Russia, resonated around the world, and continued after Abdullah Öcalan was brought to Turkey, took place in the Federated Kurdistan Region of Viyan Soran (Leyla Walî Hesen) on February 2, 2006. It continued when he set his body on fire to protest the isolation in the Heftanin region. It started again with the poisoning of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who was held under severe isolation conditions, in 2007.

 

56 people lost their lives in the actions that were launched against the international conspiracy and continued until 2019 to protest the Imrali isolation.

 

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul Fatih District Co-chair Seyri İpek, who was injured by setting herself on fire on October 24, 1998, in the prison in Sakarya, where she was being held against an international conspiracy, evaluated the international conspiracy and "You Cannot Darken Our Sun" actions on its 26th anniversary.

 

Stating that the international conspiracy is aimed at the liquidation of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the Kurdish freedom struggle, İpek said: "The Kurdish freedom struggle is a light for the Middle East, but international forces carried out the conspiracy, which he described as "dark", for their own interests. The conspiracy was foiled by Abdullah Öcalan's 'new life paradigm, philosophy and stance'. We were all in search and anxiety about the situation of the Leader (Öcalan). The leadership was last in Rome and was sent from one country to another. He was in constant motion. We could experience this fear: He would be handed over to Turkey. What were their dirty interests and calculations among themselves? We could predict this too. In those intense attacks, in that chaos, each of us, especially the Kurdish people and our friends in prison, freedom prisoners, friends who were hostages, took a stance, a state of resistance against this conspiracy."

 

A CIRCLE OF RESISTANCE HAS BEEN CREATED

 

Expressing that the Kurdish people are united against the conspiracy, İpek said: "A circle of resistance was formed with the 'You Cannot Darken Our Sun' actions. The first action was carried out by Mehmet Halil Oral in Mereş Prison. The action later spread to all prisons and said: “You express your reaction against the conspiracy and want to embrace the Leader. You want to prevent this conspiracy. You are in a constant concentration on 'What can I do?' Your hunger strikes, door knockings, these are not enough for you. It seems inadequate. Greater, more self-sacrificing actions need to be taken. Because it is necessary to foil this dark conspiracy.”

 

İPEK TOLD ABOUT THE DAY OF ACTION

 

Stating that she had difficulties with time and place after deciding to take action, İpek described that day as follows: “All our friends went down to the dining hall downstairs. One last meal would be eaten and the hunger strike would begin in the morning. This was an opportunity for me. I started to create alone time for myself. My friends invited me for dinner, I said I would be right back and went upstairs. I took the cologne, entered the sink and bolted the iron door. Then I poured the cologne on myself and set my body on fire. First my hand caught fire, and I started to spread the flame to my whole body with my hand. At that moment, I felt the Leadership in my soul and in my brain. It reflected that feeling to the outside, so much so that later my friends said, 'I feel the leadership in my heart and mind, you were constantly repeating your words.' As the flames grew stronger, I suddenly realized that my neck was falling. It didn't hurt at all. At that moment, I felt and realized that this action could, at least to some extent, prevent this dark conspiracy. After my neck fell off, I had difficulty breathing. When I shouted the slogan 'You Cannot Darken Our Sun, bejî Serok Apo(Long live Abdullah Öcalan)', my friends heard from below and broke the door. The friends were trying to extinguish the fire with the clothes they were wearing."

 

THE SERHILDAN OF THE PEOPLE WAS EFFECTIVE

 

Reminding that the "You Can't Darken Our Sun" protests spread to many prisons, İpek said: "A line of Serhildan(resistance) was formed around Abdullah Öcalan. This resistance has spread to Kurdistan, Turkey and Europe. Even in the heart of Russia, our friend Hükmiye Seyhan set her body on fire. Again, her transformation into a total serhildan and her embrace of her leader and the Kurdish Freedom Movement foiled the conspiracy. This was not only effective with the acts of self-immolation, but also the serhildan and stance of the people outside."

 

'THE PHYSICAL FREEDOM OF ÖCALAN SHOULD BE'

 

Underlining that the conspiracy was foiled but that the physical freedom of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan should be taken as a basis, İpek said: "The importance of the fight against the Imrali isolation. The society as a whole is under isolation. If there needs to be a solution here, if a normal life needs to be maintained, the Kurdish people's leader must have freedom. This should be our goal, it needs to get out of İmralı. That isolation needs to be broken."

 

MA / Ömer İbrahimoğlu