Protestors marched and held a rally in Germany’s Saarbrücken city to demand the lifting of the ban on the PKK, and came together in Hamburg to salute the imprisoned politician Bedrettin Kavak and commemorate Hediye Mirhan who had lost her life in a traffic accident as she was going to a women’s protest last year.

Nearly 800 Kurds and Germans participated in the protest in Saarbrücken, which was organized by German leftist organizations, AGİF and Kurdish Society Center. Protestors gathered in front of Europa Galeria and marched to the Saarbrücken Municipality, and held a rally in front of the municipal building.

Representatives of German leftist movements addressed the protestors, and emphasized the need for lifting the ban on the PKK and showing solidarity with the Kurdish Freedom Movement. These representatives also underlined the legitimacy of Kurdish people’s struggle and called for pressuring the AKP government for a return to the solution process.

German politicians that participated in the protest called for lifting the PKK ban in Germany and the removal of the movement from the terrorist list in Europe.

MARCH AND RALLY IN HAMBURG

Kurdish people and their allies led by the YXK/JXK gathered in Hamburg to protest the ban on the PKK in Germany that came after a political decision 23 years ago, and demanded the immediate release of all Kurdish and revolutionary prisoners.

Protestors marched in the Sternschanze neighborhood, carried Öcalan posters and PKK flags, and chanted slogans such as ‘Women Life Freedom’ and ‘Long Live Leader Apo.’ The march ended in front of Holstenglacis Prison and protestors held a rally here to salute Kurdish politician Bedrettin Kavak, who had been charged for ‘membership in a terrorist organization that is active abroad’ and arrested as part of the 129b article of the German Penal Code in August, 2015. Kavak had spent 24 years in Turkish prisons and was given a 3 yearlong prison sentence in August, 2016.

On the other hand, Rojbin Women’s Assembly carried the photos of Hediye Marhan who had lost her life during a traffic accident as she was heading to a women’s protest against the PKK ban in 2015. Rojbin Women’s Assembly representatives addressed the protestors, emphasized that the PKK is a women’s party, and recalled that thousands of women have lost their lives in the PKK struggle.

At the end of the protest, organizers called for participation in the solidarity night that will be organized in Hithaus hall on Sunday.

VIENNA

People of Kurdistan and their allies organized a march in the Austrian capital Vienna in order to demand the lifting of the PKK ban. Protestors came together in front of the Opera building and carried PKK flags as they marched to the parliament building. A rally was held in front of the parliament and speakers emphasized the need for lifting the ban on the PKK as they celebrated the anniversary of the PKK’s establishment.