The Democratic Alevi Federation (FEDA) and the Democratic Alevi Women’s Union (DAKB) released a written statement following the passing of Saturday Mother Emine Ocak.
The statement read, “In one of the darkest periods of the histories of Turkey and Kurdistan. We have lost a mother who shone like a beacon of hope in the hearts of our peoples. She stood against not unknown, but clearly perpetrated murders, against systematic state violence and the politics of denial.”
The FEDA and the DAKB released a written statement mourning the death of Saturday Mother Emine Ocak. The statement read: “Mother Emine Ocak was not only a mother mourning her own child, but a conscience that embraced all the children lost on these lands, a tireless search for justice, and a living memory of a people. In the 1990s, as the state’s unlawful practices, enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial executions were gradually normalized, every candle lit by Mother Emine and her companions in Galatasaray Square became a torch piercing the surrounding darkness.
Each Saturday, despite the police blockade, Mother Emine’s words alongside the Saturday Mothers sitting in the square, ‘We are here, we are not giving up’, transformed into a vigil of conscience and a space of collective memory for our peoples. The life of Mother Emine Ocak was a silent yet unshakable cry, a deep and determined rebellion against denial, oppression, and the patriarchal logic of the state.
She was not only the mother of Hasan Ocak, but the mother of all the children lost in Cizre, Lice, Dersim, Suruç, and Roboskî. She carried the pain of each one in her heart and shouldered the demand for justice for every single one of them. Mother Emine’s struggle became a symbol of women’s resistance that shattered the darkness of colonialism, militarism, and male domination.
She transformed the ancient maternal legacy rooted in the Mother Goddess culture of Mesopotamia and Anatolia into a shared pain, a collective conscience, and a common struggle of peoples. She did not seek justice in courtrooms stripped of meaning, but in the squares, in the streets, and in the hearts of people. Each time the name of someone disappeared in custody was spoken, her patience, her faith, and her unwavering resolve echoed through time. We pay tribute to Emine Ocak. Her memory will live on in our people’s struggle for a democratic society.”
Source: ANF News
