Protest in front of the French Ministry of Justice
In front of the French Ministry of Justice, activists demanded that the deadly attack on the Kurdish community in Paris be classified as a terrorist attack.
In front of the French Ministry of Justice, activists demanded that the deadly attack on the Kurdish community in Paris be classified as a terrorist attack.
Three Kurdish activists were killed and three others injured in the armed attack on 23 December on the Ahmet Kaya Cultural Centre, a Kurdish restaurant and a Kurdish-run barbershop on Rue d'Enghien in the tenth arrondissement of Paris. The victims of the targeted attack are Evîn Goyî (Emine Kara), a member of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council, YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) veteran in the fight against ISIS and leading representative of the Kurdish women's movement, musician Mîr Perwer (M. Şirin Aydın) and long-time activist Abdurrahman Kızıl.
The assassin, William Mallet, has been arrested for murder with racist motives. The Kurdish community, as well as many politicians and representatives of various organisations, oppose the theory of a confused lone perpetrator and demand that the public prosecutor's office, which is responsible for terrorist offences, conduct the investigation.
To reiterate this demand, demonstrators took to the streets again today in Paris. A banner reading "Ten years after 9 January, the Turkish state has once again murdered three of our friends in Paris" was unfurled in the Place de l'Opéra near the French Ministry of Justice. On 9 January 2013, Kurdish female activists Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez were shot dead by a Turkish contract killer in the heart of Paris. To this day, no one has been held accountable for this massacre.
Speaking at the protest on behalf of the Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDK-F), Berivan Firat said: "Our friends have been murdered in the middle of Paris. The Ministry of Justice is right next to us. Sara, Rojbîn and Ronahî were murdered ten years ago. We have repeated it several times; as long as this massacre is not solved, Kurds are not safe. And now Kurds have been murdered again. We are told that it was a racist attack. But we do not believe that. It is rather a terrorist attack on the Kurdish community."
Many Kurdish musicians took part in the action with their instruments, and songs were performed after the speeches. On Thursday, Kurdish artists plan to protest in front of the French Ministry of Culture.