Under the leadership of the Free Women's Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad-TJA), a march was organised with the participation of Halide Türkoğlu, spokesperson of the Women's Assembly of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party under the slogan "Women are organising peace with the struggle for freedom". Neslihan Şedal, dismissed Co-mayor of Wan Metropolitan Municipality, and Halide Türkoğlu, Spokesperson of the Women's Assembly, delivered speeches.

 

'THE END WILL BE MAGNIFICENT NO MATTER WHAT'

 

Neslihan Şedal said that the people have been resisting against the trustee usurpation for days and added, "The scene before us today is a summary of the scene that has been experenced for a century. Women's rights have been trampled underfoot and women have been massacred for a century. They want to usurp our cities and our will, but our struggle against this continues. Let them know that we will never give in and we will fight against them. Our claim is great and this claim opens the door for dialogue in İmralı today. Our struggle to bring peace to this country, to open the doors of the dungeons and to break the isolation will grow with the philosophy of 'Jin, jiyan, azadî (Woman, life, freedom)'. The end will be magnificent no matter what."

 

'WOMEN'S WILL DOES NOT RECOGNISE TRUSTEES'

 

Halide Türkoğlu said that women will never submit and said, "They think that by appointing trustees they will regress, destroy and break the women's struggle. They think that the Kurdish issue will be solved by appointing trustees and that they will collapse our women's freedom struggle. While we are preparing for International Women's Day with our women's struggle, we are also basing our struggle against the trustees. Our women's liberation struggle does not recognise trustees because it is the will of the people, women and local democracy."

 

Referring to the recent discussions on the Kurdish issue, Halide Türkoğlu said, "We women are of course in favour of peace and solution. This dialogue and solution; The isolation on Mr. Abdullah Öcalan must be completely lifted and he must be able to conduct negotiations under equal conditions. The solution that Mr Öcalan will create for a democratic solution in this country is clear. We are talking about a solution in which the demands of Kurdish and Turkish peoples and women, as well as the demands of all those in favour of democracy today, are united. This country needs to be democratised."

 

Stating that Turkey and the Middle East need an honourable peace, Halide Türkoğlu said, "In order to achieve this peace, Mr Öcalan must carry out the dialogue and negotiation process in the healthiest way possible. The struggle for peace presented to us by Mr Öcalan is the fundamental duty of all of us. This fundamental task is also to organise. We will carry this message of peace to International Women's Day."

 

After the speeches, women marched from Van MALL to DBP provincial building with the slogans "jin, jiyan, azadî", "We will win if we resist", "Bijî berxwerdana jinên Kurd (Long live resistance of Kurdish women)", "Neslihan Şedal is our will".