Veteran politician and filmmaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who died on 3 May after 18 days in intensive care after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, has been commemorated across Europe. Hundreds of people gathered across cities in France, Germany and Austria to remember Önder’s legacy and to honour his commitment for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey.
Dozens of people came together at the Kurdish community centre in Viyana, Austria, to hold a commemoration for Önder. During the commemoration, Dr. Ahmet Inan, a school friend of Önder, shared childhood memories with him, recalling how when he first started school and was bullied for not knowing Turkish, Önder had stood up for him “as if he was a Kurd himself”.
Civaka Azad co-chair Ahmet Zirek, who spoke at the event, remembered Önder as a person who “fought for everyone” and as the “conscience of humanity”, stressing that “although he came from a Turkmen family, he stood up for Kurdish, Alevi and Syrian identity”. The events ended with people chanting the Kurdish slogan “Şêhîd namirin! (The martyrs are immortal!)”
The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party MP and member of the Imrali delegation, which played a key role in the recent peace negotiations between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state, was also remembered at an event in the French capital. Dozens of people gathered in Paris to read the message of condolence that Abdullah Öcalan had written for Önder, and stressed that they would continue Önder’s struggle for peace in Turkey.
Önder was commemorated in different cities across Germany as well, with the biggest event taking place in Berlin, where Kurdish, Turkish and German politicians held speeches, remembering Önder’s effort for peace and his democratic personality, which made him appreciated by many different communities and people across the political spectrum in Turkey.
After the commemoration, the participants paid a visit to the Tertel memorial in Berlin, which was built in commemoration of the 1938 Dersim genocide against the Kurdish people in Tunceli (Dersim).
Commemorative events were also held in Mannheim and Giessen, where dozens of people gathered in the local Kurdish community centres to watch short films about Önder’s life and legacy and to listen to friends and colleagues of Önder who shared their memories of him.
Beynelmilel (The International), a film written and directed by Önder about music and art in Turkey after the 1982 military coup, was also screened at the Mannheim event.
