JINHA

AMED – Sebahat Tuncel, co-chair of the DBP (Democratic Regions Party), said that the AKP and President Tayyip Erdoğan were misogynists, but that they could not frighten women. “Can you put the Kurdish women’s movement on trial?” asked Sebahat, saying that women would stand up against their enemies.

As the repression of the Diyarbakır municipal government and the arrest of co-mayors Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı continues, the organizations DTK, KJA, DBP, and HDP are widely announcing a decision to mobilize. In the Bağlar district of Diyarbakır, DBP co-chair Sebahat Tuncel joined HDP general co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and other political figures to hold a press conference. Hundreds attended the announcement outside the Bağlar district municipal building, chanting slogans denouncing the repression against the municipality.

Sebahat Tuncel began her speech by stating that women would resist the indignity being forced on the Kurdish people. She called attention to the arrest of teachers, healthcare workers, and politicians across Kurdistan, saying that the state wished to perpetrate genocide.

Referring to President Erdoğan as an enemy of women, Kurds, and the environment, Sebahat said, “He says, I’ve got 55% of the vote. Well, Gültan and Fırat have 65% of the vote. They got more votes than you.

“They think that by arresting our friends, they will force the people to surrender. Do you know Gültan Kışanak? She is a Kurdish woman who didn’t give in to your torture in prison during the 1980 coup.”

Sebahat called attention to the arrest of Ayla Akat Ata, of the women’s organization KJA (Congress of Free Women), who had served as an MP for two years and is known for her strong stance and her role in the women’s movement.

“They say there’s a case against the KJA, so they held a raid,” said Sebahat. “Can you put the Kurdish women’s movement on trial? Can you break these women’s will? Yes, you can drag us across the ground; you can torture us; you can imprison us. But we will never give up our strong stance.”

(bc-mm/gc/cm)