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KURDISH rights activists in London reached their sixth day on hunger strike today in solidarity with opposition politicians in Turkish prisons.
Activists have been taking it in turns to strike outside Manor House station in north London since Thursday and say they will continue to camp out until December 21.
The action is in support of imprisoned People’s Democratic Party (HDP) MP Leyla Guven, who has been on hunger strike since November 7.
Ms Guven was arrested on January 31 for opposing “Operation Olive Branch,” Turkey’s invasion and occupation of the Kurdish region Afrin in northern Syria.
She faces up to 31 years behind bars for “founding and managing an armed organisation,” “propagandising for an illegal organisation,” “inciting people to attend unlawful rallies and demonstrations" and “membership of an illegal organisation.”
The campaigners are also calling for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who has been locked up in isolation since 1999.
Hunger strikers Mark Campbell said Ms Guven had acted to “start a process in which the Turkish government ends their violence against the Kurdish people and their movement.”
He said: “Leyla has initiated her hunger strike to stop the political genocide, to stop the acts of aggression and war crimes, and to stop the racism against the Kurdish people.
“With the 20th anniversary of the kidnapping of Abdullah Ocalan coming up, it is time now for a political process.”
Campaigners have been on hunger strike in support of the MP in Turkey and across Europe.
