In a series of coordinated actions across Europe on Saturday, Kurdish communities and their allies took to the streets to demand an end to the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader imprisoned in Turkey. There were demonstrations Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Hannover in Germany, as well as Paris, Rennes and Strasbourg in France.
At the march in Strasbourg, protesters criticised the silence maintained by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). “The Kurdish people and their friends will send a clear message to the CPT that both the Council of Europe and the CPT must immediately fulfil their responsibilities towards Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom,” journalist Erem Kansoy reported.
Ömer Güneş, a lawyer from the Asrın Law Office representing Öcalan, emphasised the need for Europe to act based on legal reflexes rather than political considerations. “If the isolation imposed on Öcalan is lifted, the path to peace will be opened,” he added.
Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Co-Chair Ahmed Karamus highlighted the centrality of Öcalan’s situation to the resolution of the Kurdish issue. “No steps towards a political negotiation or dialogue for a solution can be taken unless the isolation is broken,” he stated. “The isolation imposed on Öcalan is part of the Turkish state’s broader strategy against the Kurdish people.”
Kurdish politician Nejdet Atalay criticised the CPT for its indifference: “The isolation of Mr. Öcalan is nearing three years, and there has been no contact at all. The CPT’s indifference to this situation is a violation of the morality and law upon which it was founded.”
Emmanuel Fernandes, a French member of the Council of Europe, urged a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue. “Detaining the Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan is not just silencing one individual; it is also detaining the idea of the Kurdish people’s right to live freely. The struggle of the Kurdish people is a legitimate struggle. Release Mr. Abdullah Öcalan and create a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue,” he said.
The events served as a platform for the Kurdish diaspora and their allies in Europe to voice their concerns and demand action from the European institutions.
