Organized by the Defend Kurdistan Initiative, a central rally is taking place in the German city of Düsseldorf today to denounce the Turkish state's war of aggression in Kurdistan. The large-scale demonstration is supported by the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe (TJK-E) and the Kurdistan Democratic Societies Congress in Europe (KCDK-E) under the motto "Defend Kurdistan against Turkish occupation and chemical weapons."

Masses gathered at Kirscheplatz in the early morning hours and started to march to the gathering area at Düsseldorf  Graf-Adolf-Platz, chanting slogans such as "Bijî Serok Apo" (Long Live Leader Öcalan) "Biji Berxwedana Gerila" (Long Live the Guerrilla Resistance), "Biji PKK" (Long Live the PKK) "Bimre Ixanet" (Death to Betrayal).

Thousands of people are joining the march, singing the Kurdish anthem Ey Reqîb. The march will be followed by a rally at Rheinpark where representatives from four parts of Kurdistan, political parties from all around the world, human rights defenders, ecologists and representatives of women’s movements will address the crowd. The speakers include representatives of Tamils, Zapatistas and Yazidis.