EC Meeting Papers January 2019

Imprisoned HDP MP Leyla Güven is in critical condition after 68 days of hunger strike to demand an end to the isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. Her pulse is between 55-60, while her blood pressure is about 5-7. She can’t receive liquids any longer, including water. She lost about 15 kilos and she can barely walk or talk. There is an ambulance waiting in front of the prison gate. The doctor asked for a signature in case of an emergency so that she could be treated, but Leyla Güven stated that she will not accept the treatment, if possible. The above message was shared recently by Kurdish activists in front of the European Council in Strasbourg, who started an indefinite hunger strike demanding an end to the total isolation of Kurdish political leader and thinker Abdullah Öcalan on December 17, 2018. The person referred to in the message is 55-year-old Leyla Güven, who has today reached the 68th day of her indefinite hunger strike in prison and whose life is at severe risk. Güven is a legally elected Kurdish member of the Turkish parliament, member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), former mayor, and co-president of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), the largest civil society body in the Kurdish regions of Turkey. She was imprisoned in January 2018 upon voicing criticism over the Turkish state’s illegal invasion and occupation of the majority Kurdish region of Afrin in Rojava (northern Syria). During this military operation severe war crimes were committed and civilians were systematically targeted by Turkish- backed Syrian militias who raped, looted, kidnapped and killed with impunity. Due to the state of emergency regulations imposed on the country after the attempted coup in 2016, Leyla Güven is the first case in Turkish history of a representative who was not released from jail upon being elected. Today, the policy of isolation against Mr Öcalan is imposed not only on him, but — in his personage — on society as a whole. Isolation is a crime against humanity. I am starting an indefinite hunger strike to protest against Mr Öcalan’s isolation. I won’t be defending myself in court from now on. I will continue to protest until the judiciary has ended its illegal decisions and until this isolationist policy has ended. If necessary, I will lead this protest to the death. Since 2011, Öcalan has been systematically denied access to his lawyers. Since 2012, a permanent vigil tent in front of the European Council has been demanding his freedom. The last sign of life had been received from Öcalan was during a family visit in 2016, following immense public pressure due to the suspicion that he might have been harmed in the aftermath of the coup attempt that summer. On Saturday, January 12, after immense pressure on the Turkish government as a result of the hunger strikes, Öcalan’s brother was able to visit him in prison. A statement is to be expected in the coming days. The hunger strikes continue nevertheless. After all, the aim of these actions was not to merely receive confirmation that Öcalan is alive but to put an end to the systematic isolation of the leader and to enable his lawyers to meet him. Öcalan is overwhelmingly recognized as the chief negotiator and representative of the Kurdish people in the peace talks with the Turkish state. He is the initiator of several ceasefires and initiatives to work towards an end to the conflict. By isolating him, Turkey is actively sabotaging any chance of returning to the negotiating table and bringing an end to the violence. In a signature During her last court hearing in November she declared: Öcalan is the key to peace in Kurdistan