The demonstration in Cologne under the slogan ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question’ has started. The event marks an important milestone in the international campaign ‘Freedom for Öcalan - A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’, which was launched in October 2023 and recently joined by 69 Nobel Prize winners worldwide. Thousands of people from all over Germany and neighbouring countries have come to Cologne for the event and are marching from the Deutzer Werft through the city.

The demonstration is organised by KON-MED (Confederation of Kurdish Communities in Germany), the largest Kurdish umbrella organisation in Germany. Numerous organisations, parties and civil society structures have called for the demonstration. The participants are making an urgent appeal for the release of Abdullah Öcalan and the resumption of a dialogue process to resolve the decades-long conflict in Kurdistan through peace negotiations.

A joint appeal entitled ‘For a political solution to the Kurdish question – For a just peace: Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan now!’ stated: “The isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on the prison island of Imrali for almost 26 years, is emblematic of political and social oppression in Turkey. An end to the isolation and the release of Abdullah Öcalan are crucial to the beginning of a just peace process. He remains the central figure for a dialogue on equal terms.”

The German Solidarity Network of the campaign for the release of Öcalan stated the following in a message about the demonstration: “The recent visit of the DEM member of parliament Ömer Öcalan to his uncle on Imrali, as well as signals from the Turkish government and nationalist parties, raise hopes for an end to the isolation and the policy of violence. At the same time, the suppression of human rights and democratic opposition in Turkey continues, while the war in Kurdistan, especially in Southern Kurdistan (Northern Iraq) and Rojava (Northern Syria), is causing immense suffering.”

The organisers are calling on people to support the demonstration in Cologne and to join together in sending a powerful signal for peace, justice and democracy. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the rally. The first groups from Germany and across Europe began arriving in the early hours of the morning. Participants are arriving in numerous buses from France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. According to the organisers, 140 buses have been rented from across Germany alone.