European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E) issued a written statement in which they mentioned that the Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan was taken prisoner 18 years ago on February 15 in an international conspiracy. KCDK-E stated that the conspiracy indicated captivity for all of the freedom movement and the peoples of Kurdistan in the person of Öcalan, and continued:

"The Kurdish people and our struggle for freedom was attempted to be taken captive in the person of Reber Apo."

The KCDK-E statement pointed out that the democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue and the establishment of a democratic system in Turkey depended entirely on the fate of the struggle being waged, and included the following:

"On February 1st, KCDK-E and its constituents are organizing long marches along with the allies of the Kurdish people all over the world to condemn the International Conspiracy developed against the Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan in its 18th year and to demand freedom for Öcalan and status for Kurdistan.

In the long marches and rallies we as the KCDK-E will hold between February 1st and 15th, the Kurdish people and their allies will march with the motto, 'Freedom for Öcalan, status for Kurdistan'. There will be long marches and rallies in Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Canada, Australia, Japan, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Romania and Finland. The Ciwanên Azad-led long march to commence on February 5th will arrive in Strasbourg on February 10. The international march will kick off after a press briefing to be held in front of the Luxembourg Council of Justice on February 1st and arrive in Strasbourg on February 10, with attendance from allies from countries like Spain, Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, France, Finland, Switzerland and Argentina.

In all long marches to be held in all countries, the prepared dossiers will be submitted to NGOs, press institutions, political parties and state and central governments, and notices will be handed out throughout the routes.

The long march of the allies will take off with a large scale press conference on February 1st. The press conference will be held in front of the Luxembourg European Council of Justice. The case to remove PKK from the list continues in the European Council of Justice still. The allies of the Kurds will announce to the whole world that they are against this list.

We are calling on the European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations and other powers to break their silence and take a stance against Turkey's policies of massacres and annihilation.

We also call on them to fulfill their responsibilities toward the Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, end all injustices at once and take necessary steps to ensure his freedom.

And for Kurdistan, we will issue a call for the recognition of the status and the consideration of the Kurdish people as the fundamental political interlocutors, as the Kurds have assumed a leading role in the fields of democracy and freedom in this new century with their struggle for all of humanity.

As the KCDK-E, we are calling on the Kurdish people, all NGOs in Europe, human rights defenders and democrats to attend the marches and support the purpose."

The marches are to take off from the following locations:

THE NETHERLANDS

March will start in front of the Rotterdam Municipality on February 1 at 11.00 with a mass sendoff. The attendees will be greeted in Delft city center in the evening and they will stay in Delft.

On February 2, the marchers will be sent off from Delft city center at 10:30. They are expected to arrive in Den Haag to the Netherlands Parliament by 15:30. They will be greeted there and a rally will be held.

SWITZERLAND

Geneva

February 2, 11:00

March

Place: Jardin Angalis

Lausanne

February 3, 11:00

March

Place: Place de Marche

Bern

February 4, 11:00

Place: Bern Parliament

FRANCE

February 1, 10:00

Villeneuve St. Georges Municipality

GERMANY

Berlin

March between February 1-3

Start: Potsdamm HbF, 11:00

Hamburg

March between February 1-3

Start: S-Bahnhof Neugraben - Hamburg, 10:00

Bremen

March between February 2-4

Start: Hildesheim HbF, 10:00

Dortmund-Westfallen (Düsseldorf)

March between February 2-4

Start: Kaiser-Wilhelmstrasse (in front of the DKTM), Duisburg

Cologne - Nord Rhein Westfallen (Düsseldorf)

March between February 2-4

Start: FEDA center, 10:00

Kassel-Thüringen (Erfurt)

March between February 1-2

Start: Zoopark Str., 13:00

Hessen - Saarland (Mainz - Wiesbaden)

March between February 1-3

Start: Luisenplatz, Darmstadt, 09:00

Baden-Würtemberg (Stuttgart)

March between February 1-3

Start: Klianplatz, Heilbronn, 09:30

Bayern (Munich)

March between February 1-3

Start: Dachau HbF, 09:30

ITALY

Milan

Panel conferences starting on January 27 will continue in several cities in Italy until February 11.

February 11, 14:00

March to Milan

AUSTRALIA

Melbourne

February 7, 11:00

Start: Fedarion Squeden

CANADA

February 15, 12:00

Start: Woodbridge

BELGIUM

February 7-8, 11:00

Rue de Hodimont 51, 4800 Verviers

UNITED KINGDOM

Start of march in Croyden on February 11, 13:00

End of march in London on February 12, 14:00 with rally in front of Prime Ministry.

DENMARK

February 10, 10:00-16:00

Karslunde - Brøndby Strand

***

February 11, 10:00-13:00

Brøndby Strand - Copenhagen, ending with a rally

SWEDEN

February 11, 10:00-18:00

Märsta -Sollentuna

***

February 12, 09:00-15:00

Sollentuna - Stockholm segellstorg

AUSTRIA

February 1, 09:00

March to start from St. Pölten will end with a rally in Vienna on February 2