By FARMAN CHOMAN
RANYA, Kurdistan Region – About 100 supporters have died in deadly acts of protest such as setting themselves ablaze over the 14 years that Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has been jailed in Turkey, a Kurdish official said.
Last Friday marked the 14th year of Ocalan’s capture, and his imprisonment in virtual isolation on Turkey’s Imrali Island.
"In the four parts of Kurdistan around 100 activists, guerrillas and supporters of the PKK have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the leader Ocalan," said Roj Wallat, information director of the Kurdish Communities Council (KCK).
Viyan Jaff, a PKK leadership member, was among those who set themselves on fire in protest. Jaff, who joined the PKK when she was 16, set herself ablaze and died in the Haftanin region in 2006.
PKK guerrilla Diyar Khoy also set himself on fire, calling for “Freedom for Ocalan,” during celebrations in the Qandil mountains, where the group’s main base is located.
A number of foreigners, including one from Russia and a mother of two originally from Greece, also have committed similar acts of self-sacrifice for Ocalan’s freedom.
In the past and through his lawyers, Ocalan has asked his supporters to end self-immolations and to express their support in other ways.
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