Tens of thousands of Kurds friends participated in a march and rally in Cologne, Germany on 16 November as part of the ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign that was launched globally in October 2023. The internationalists who participated in the rally conveyed the message ‘Abdullah Öcalan's greeting is the light of women's struggle’.

Internationalist activists Min Sommer and Sarah Berg, who participated in the rally, spoke to ANF and stated the following: “We must fight together for the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and take a decisive stand.”

Min Sommer noted that Öcalan has been in isolation for 26 years in violation of all international laws and said, “The German government and the European Union talk about democracy and human rights, but they do nothing about it. They are acting in their own interests because they are continuing their arms deals with the Turkish state. They consider these relations with Turkey more important than the protection of human rights. This is because big German companies benefit from these relations. This is why the repression of the Kurds is increasing in Germany and this is a great hypocrisy. The international community and Germany must take action to end the isolation and ensure the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.”

Sarah Berg, another young internationalist, stated that she participated in the rally for the physical freedom of Öcalan and said: “We came together here today for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and the crowd gathered here shows how important this demand is. Millions of people do not accept and condemn the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the practices against international law. The existence and freedom of Abdullah Öcalan is a great source of hope for us internationalists. His thoughts and philosophy give us hope. We want to fight for this together and that is why we are here today.”