A four-week vigil against Turkish expansionist ambitions and the attitude of international institutions to the Erdogan regime has been launched with a press conference in Strasbourg. The action is organized by the Kurdish Women's Movement in Europe (TJK-E) and the European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress KCDK-E under the is "Everywhere against occupation and genocide - time for freedom". In addition to the Turkish invasion of guerrilla areas in South Kurdistan, the protest is also directed against the re-launch of the multi-million-dollar bounties offered by the U.S. for tips on the whereabouts of leading PKK members Cemil Bayık, Duran Kalkan and Murat Karayılan.

The vigil takes place in the square in front of the Council of Europe, where a permanent rally for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan has been held since 2012. The action was introduced with a minute of silence for the revolutionary martyrs worldwide. The participants held up pictures of fallen guerrilla fighters, the photos bore the French inscription "Nos enfants" (Our children).

Afterwards, statements were made on behalf of various organizations. TJK-E activist Berivan Avci said that the Turkish state considers the women's liberation struggle a danger. She pointed out that this is also clear from the way the bodies of fallen female guerrilla fighters are handled: "Free Kurdish women have waged a historic struggle against IS and similar structures. Their struggle is against occupation and feminicide, and their ideas are based on Abdullah Öcalan's gender-free paradigm."

Meryem Tekiner, another TJK-E activist, remarked that the model of society put forward by Öcalan inspires women and peoples worldwide. For the system of capitalist modernity, this paradigm poses a danger, she said, which is why the Turkish state's gradual occupation of Kurdistan is tolerated or supported by the major powers. "The Kurdish women's movement is fighting against this hypocritical policy in all four parts of Kurdistan and all over the world. The Kurdish liberation movement is fighting for humanity and will succeed in this."

Remzi Kartal, co-chair of Kongra-Gel, referred to the international conspiracy against the Kurdish movement, which has been ongoing since the abduction of Abdullah Öcalan in 1999 in violation of international law. PYD representative Zozan Dêrik called for inner-Kurdish unity and described the KDP’s collaboration in southern Kurdistan with the Turkish state as unforgivable.

Speaking in the name of the Democratic Forces Alliance (DGB), Tuncay Yilmaz stated that the international silence on Turkey's cross-border military operations is based on mutual interests. The worldwide protests against Israel's attacks on the Palestinians are understandable, but the threat of genocide against the Kurds is not addressed on any international platform, the DGB activist criticized. Former HDP deputy Faysal Sariyildiz addressed the political campaign of extermination against the opposition in Turkey in his speech.

The vigil will be held by changing groups, taken over by exiled politicians in the first week.

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