Ömer Öcalan, MP for the Party for Democracy and Equality (DEM Party), arrived in Cologne on Friday night. He called for participation in the march to be held today in the city to demand freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question.

"I am also here in Cologne. – he said - We will send a message to the whole world from here. This strong message must also reach the island of Imrali."

The Kurdish politician, whose uncle Abdullah Öcalan has been held in total isolation in the prison island of Imrali for over 25 years, said: "The Kurds are an innocent people who are fighting for peace. We are committed to a dignified peace and a political solution." The DEM Party MP appealed to the Kurds living in Europe and all people in solidarity to take part in the demonstration in Cologne and to contribute to the success of the event.

Visit to Abdullah Öcalan

Ömer Öcalan visited Abdullah Öcalan on 23 October in Imrali. He was able to speak to the Kurdish people’s leader for around an hour and a half. Before that visit, it was unclear for years what was going on the island. The last visit to the Kurdish people’s leader took place on 3 March 2020, and in March 2021 he had a short telephone conversation with his brother Mehmet Öcalan.

As Ömer Öcalan announced the day after his visit, Abdullah Öcalan was in good health and sent greetings to everyone. He assessed the general political developments and asked that the following message be conveyed on to the public: "Isolation continues. If the conditions are provided, I have the theoretical and practical strength to move this phase from an environment of conflict and violence to a legal and political environment."

Demonstration in Cologne

Dozens of Kurdish associations and numerous internationalist and democratic organizations have called for participation in the demonstration that will take place today in Cologne. The meeting time is at eleven o'clock at the Deutzer Werft, and, then led by a women's bloc, the march is scheduled to start at 12.30 p.m. Participants from Germany and other European countries are expected. Buses will travel to Cologne from all over Germany. The demonstration will go over the Severinsbrücke on the banks of the Rhine and past Heumarkt back over the Deutzer Brücke to the meeting point.