The Democratic Kurdish Council of France (CDK-F) and the Kurdish Women's Movement in France (TJK-F) are organising a 25-day-long march for the freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan from Paris to Strasbourg, where the European Union institutions are located. The march is taking place under the slogan "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Justice for Kurds" as part of the international campaign "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question", which was launched worldwide on 10 October 2023.

The march, which started on Monday, 22 January, continued on its sixth day in Rennes.

During the march, activists distributed thousands of leaflets to the people and shopkeepers in the neighbourhood. The participants visited French shopkeepers and institutions and presented them with files informing them about the isolation conditions of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The activists chanted slogans for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and informed the French people through loudspeaker announcements. After the march, as in other cities, the postcards collected were sent to Abdullah Öcalan, who is held in isolation in İmralı.

Call for participation in the march in Cologne

Speaking during the march, Kurdish politician Hatip Dicle said the following:

"I enthusiastically greet the freedom marchers, symbolically consisting of 25 people, who will start from Paris and reach Cologne via Strasbourg to protest the 25-year isolation and captivity of Abdullah Öcalan, the universal leader of our peoples and the oppressed of the world, on Imrali Island. I invite our valuable and self-sacrificing people to the great Cologne march on 17 February to embrace these pioneering marchers."

After the march, a meeting was held at the Rennes Community Centre with wide participation. In the meeting, the situation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan was evaluated and the importance of the march, as well as the importance of standing up for the leader of a people was emphasised.

Two days before the march in the city of Vannes, a group of Turkish racists attempted to attack the march, but the activists withstood the provocation in cold blood and drove the attackers away.

The next stage of the 25-day long march, the final of which will take place in Cologne, Germany on 17 February, will continue in Rennes, France on Sunday 28 January.

In Rouen, a regional public meeting will be held with the participation of Hatip Dicle.