The victims of the Maraş and Roboski Massacres were remembered in Cologne together with the victims of the prison operation carried out in Turkey on 19 December 2000. Activists also saluted the hunger strike currently going on in the prisons.
The Maraş massacre was carried out by the Turkish state between 19 and 25 December 1978. The Roboski Massacre was carried out on 28 December 2011. On 19 December 2000 the operation “return to life” was carried out against prisoners on death fast.
A rally was held in Cologne to mark the anniversary of both massacres and the operation against the prisons. The action organized by the Democratic Union of Forces Platform was held in Heumarkt. Members of the Democratic Society Center, Viyan Women's Council, Feda, Maraş Initiative, AGIF, ATIK, and the World to Live attended the rally. A banner said ‘We will not forget. From Maraş to Roboski, we will not forget’. Activists carried photos of the victims of Roboski and prisoners who lost their life on 19 December 2000.
The speeches at the action pointed out that the massacre mentality of the Turkish state has not changed since Maraş. HDP former MP Nursel Aydogan reminded that prisoners have gone on hunger strike demanding freedom for the Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan in Turkey. She called for solidarity with the hunger strikers who today enter their 24th day of fast. A declaration from KON-MED was also read during the action.
