Around ten thousand people marched through Cologne yesterday in solidarity with Kobanê. Many German organisations, first and foremost the Left Party (Die Linke) supported the march.

The march began at 2 pm in Ebertplatz. Following a 2-hour march the protesters gathered in the Dom (Cathedral) square, where Germans in the area lent their support to the protesters. A group of 50 far-right Turks attempted to provoke the protesters, but left the scene after being confronted by Kurdish youths.

The march was organised by NAV-DEM and supported by dozens of organisations, including TJB-E, Ciwanen Azad, ATİK, BİR-KAR, AABF, Partizan, NEW WOMAN, KALDIRAÇ, PJAK, DİE LİNKE, YXK, Alınteri, AGİF, DİDF, CİK and FEDA.

On the march the slogan “Long live the Kobané resistance”, “ISIS get out of Kurdistan” and “Long live the resistance of the YPG/YPJ” were shouted frequently by marchers. Posters of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan and PYD and YPG flags were carried.

Tekin Bulak from the Cologne Kurdish Centre, Left Party MP Andre Hunko, Monika Morres from Tatort Kurdistan and Dr. Herbert Ernst from the MLPD spoke at the rally.

Tekin Bulak said: “Those saying that Kobanê is about to fall are trying to convince people that they are doing the most to help Kobanê, adding: “Suruç and Kobanê are one, there is just wire fence between them. The people are related to each other, but the AKP and Tayyip Erdoğan have continued to ignore this and supported ISIS.”

After Bulak, Left Party Federal MP Andre Hunko called on the Turkish state to abandon its lie regarding refugees. Hunko said: “We sent a delegation there. Turkey says there are 140,000 refugees from Kobanê. This is true, but Turkey is only sheltering 6,000 of them! The people and Kurdish municipalities are helping the rest in a communal way. Hunko concluded by saying: “Winter is approaching. The people of Kobanê need us. We therefore expect everyone to contribute to our campaign.”

The rally ended with the shouting of slogans.