In Germany, the first anniversary of the December 2022 attack in Paris against the Kurdish community was marked by protests against the authorities in France, with the initial demonstrations taking place in Freiburg and Stuttgart.
In Freiburg’s city centre, the Nuda Women’s Assembly led a poignant gathering expressing dissatisfaction with the perceived silence of the French government. Kurdish individuals in Freiburg not only demanded accountability for the incident, but also called for the identification of the real perpetrators behind the massacre.
Waving banners with messages such as “We will not forget the massacres, we will not let them be forgotten”, “We know the killers” and “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (Woman, Life, Freedom), participants demanded justice.
Simultaneously, in Stuttgart, women activists led another protest on Königstrasse, stressing the need to shed light on the details surrounding the Paris attacks.
The commemorations in both cities aimed not only to remember the deadly incidents, but also to highlight the unresolved aspects of the attacks. The demonstrations echoed the sentiments of those seeking justice for the victims and clarity about the circumstances surrounding the attacks.
Three Kurdish activists were killed when a gunman opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre in the Strasbourg-Saint-Denis district of Paris on 23 December: Emine Kara, Mîr Perwer and Abdurrahman Kızıl. The pace of justice has been criticised over the past year, leading the Kurdish community to protest against a perceived lack of accountability.
The shooting took place just days before the 10th anniversary of another attack against the Kurdish community in Paris in 2013. On 9 January, a long shadow was cast over the Kurdish community in France when three prominent Kurdish women politicians – Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez – were brutally murdered.
In the face of the continuing impunity surrounding these two cases, the Kurdish community demands justice and transparency.
