The Kurdish Democratic Community Centers have opened various stands in different Swiss cities to collect signatures for the campaign demanding the removal of the PKK from the EU list of terrorist organisations.

Women's and youth councils in particular have been very active in collecting signatures and promoting the campaign, despite the bad weather conditions and the limitations imposed by the coronavirus epidemic.

More than 5600 signatures have been collected so far in the campaign which started on 3 January, promoted by the Swiss Democratic Kurdish Society (CDK-S) and the Swiss Kurdish Women's Association (YJK-S).

The statement issued on behalf of the CDK-S co-presidency Council said that the campaign will be accelerated in the coming days to reach the target of 150,000 signatures.

Activists have opened stands in the cities of Zurich, Basel and Aarau.

BADEN

CDK members in Baden opened a stand by the lake this weekend to explain to people why the PKK should be removed from the EU list of terrorist organisations.

Aarau Rojbin Women's Council members Güler Koç and Bergüzar Çiftçi spoke to ANF about the ongoing petition.

Bergüzar Çiftçi said that “Apart from the PKK being the representative of the Kurdish people, it is the only force that can bring peace to the Middle East. This undeniable truth was revealed by the epic resistance of the PKK against ISIS. The European states are obliged to take the necessary steps to remove the PKK, the representative of the Kurdish people, from the list of terrorist organisations.”

Drawing attention to the fact that the PKK is not a terrorist organization, Güler Koç said that the European states, which have purely political and commercial concerns, keep the PKK on the terrorist list for their selfish interests.

Koç said that it is not a coincidence that thousands of world-renowned names who are aware of the PKK's struggle for the security and peace of not only the Kurds but also the peoples of the world, signed the petition.

Güler Koç continued: “The struggle waged by PKK guerrillas has become universal today and has turned into a movement of hope for all humanity.”

ZURICH

In Zurich, members of the Bêrîtan Women's Council and CDK continue to collect signatures for the campaign.

CDK member Ahmet Bingül told ANF that they “continue to collect signatures for the PKK to be removed from the EU list of terrorist organisations. We call on everyone to embrace and sign the petition. The PKK is a humanitarian movement, not a terrorist organization.”

BASEL

Members of the Rohahi Women's Council continue to collect signatures at the stand they opened in Basel.