Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş, who are held in isolation in İmralı F-Type High Security Closed Prison, met with their families on 31 March on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. Abdullah Öcalan's nephew Ömer Öcalan described the content of the meeting in an interview with our agency on 9 April. During the meeting, Abdullah Öcalan asked about Xelfetî, Atmaca, Kumral and Sarıçiçek families living in Cibîn neighbourhood where he went to primary school and asked for their greetings.

 

HISTORY OF CIBIN VILLAGE

 

Formerly an Armenian village, Cibin, now Saylakkaya, is a village that was lost during the genocide. Sarıçiçek family is an Albanian family from Kosovo who first came to the village. The great grandfather of Sarıçiçek family, who was a mullah, saved 7 Armenian girls from Cibîn who survived the Armenian genocide by hiding them in his barn. The girls were raised by the villagers. This story, which the people of the region still tell from language to language, was also instrumental in the recognition of the Sarıçiçek family, who stood up against injustice for years.

 

SARICICEK FAMILY

 

Abdullah Öcalan spent part of his childhood with the Sarıcicek family. Saricicek family took part in the early stages of the Kurdish freedom struggle and paid many prices. Members of the Saricicek family, who hosted many revolutionaries from Mahsum Korkmaz (Commander Agit) to Haki Karer, were tortured, detained and arrested many times for this reason. A family of 11, the Saricicek family had to migrate to Germany one by one after the 1980s due to state pressure. 

 

Seher Sarıçiçek (101), the mother of Hüseyin Sarıçiçek, one of Abdullah Öcalan's friends, is one of those who spent the most time with Abdullah Öcalan. Although Seher Sarıçiçek has forgotten many things due to Alzheimer's disease, she still remembers Abdullah Öcalan, whom she calls "My son Apo". Seher Sarıçiçek said that she put away the rosary she made for Abdullah Öcalan due to her illness, but she could not remember where it was, and she expressed her love for Abdullah Öcalan at every opportunity.

 

'WE WANT HIS FREEDOM'

 

Seher Saricicek, a Syrian Kurd on her mother's side and an Albanian on her father's side, said that Abdullah Öcalan used to come to their house every time he visited Cibin. Saying that they were very happy when they heard Abdullah Öcalan's greetings, Seher Saricicek said, "When Apo came to our village, he would gather young people in the morning and bring them to our house and talk to them until the night. At that time he had not yet established an organisation. Until now, he always sent his greetings to us whenever he went to see us. He never forgot us. We loved him very much. We still love him."

 

Seher Saricicek stressed that she wanted Abdullah Öcalan to be free and to see him.

 

MA / Ceylan Şahinli