The Kurdish European association KCDK-E has announced that it will be taking part in activities for World Peace Day on 1 September. "People from Kurdistan will be taking part in many demonstrations and events to campaign for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question," the largest Kurdish umbrella organization in Europe said in a statement.

This is by no means just about Kurdistan, said the statement, adding: "Tens of thousands of people are dying worldwide in wars and massacres organized by arms lobbyists. There is hunger, misery, homelessness and we are witnessing inhumane scenes. The arms industry is selling every conceivable tool of war, including chemical weapons, to despotic and racist regimes. Every square centimeter of the Middle East is evidence of war, blood and tears. Tens of thousands have lost their lives in Palestine before the eyes of humanity. The greatest victims of the war are children, the elderly and women."

One of the wars supported by the international arms lobby is the dirty campaign of extermination that the Turkish state is waging against the Kurds and other peoples, the association continued: "The fascist Turkish state, which has covered the territory of Turkey with blood for a hundred years and subjected the peoples to denial and assimilation, continues to be the only obstacle to a common life and peace among peoples. Encouraged by the silence and support of sovereign states, the dictator Erdoğan is provoking further wars in the region for his occupation ambitions, destroying nature and mercilessly massacring the civilian population, including children, women and journalists. Erdoğan and his fascist regime are carrying out looting, burning and all kinds of cruelty in the Middle East and Kurdistan, justifying their expansionist ambitions by claiming that the self-determination of the Kurdish people endangers Turkey's security.

Dictator Erdoğan is a threat to regional and global peace. This threat leads to destabilization of the region. Despite these facts, the silence and ambivalence of the European states continue to serve Turkey's expansionist ambitions in the region. However, the Kurds have made great sacrifices to protect humanity from the barbaric ISIS gangs."

The statement added: "If the peoples of the world, democratic institutions and organizations do not unite against the growing threat of war, innocent people will continue to be threatened, as in Solingen, Germany. Therefore, it is the common task of all to oppose war, defend democracy and support the just demands of the oppressed peoples.

With their fight against reactionary thinking and colonialism and with the project they have proposed of a coexistence based on grassroots democracy, women's freedom and social ecology, the Kurds are an important part of the struggle for peace in the region and in the world. They have proven this best in the fight against ISIS. They have defended human dignity."

The statement continued: "Since Erdoğan was unable to win the dirty war against the Kurdish women and men who fought heroically against ISIS barbarism, he now wants to occupy and annex Kurdistan with the help of the KDP and the Iraqi government. For this reason, he is attacking the civilian population in violation of international law.

As KCDK-E, we reiterate our call for peace for the whole world on the occasion of World Peace Day. On 1 September, we will say no to war in order to secure peace and prevent ecological destruction and massacres. We are mobilizing for World Peace Day to break through the prison walls on Imrali."