Tens of thousands of Kurds and internationalist protesters marched in Cologne, Germany, on 16 November to demand the freedom of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.
Hundreds of internationalist activists from countries such as Iran, Germany, France, India, Bangladesh and Italy also joined the demonstration to express their solidarity with the Kurdish cause and to show why the struggle for Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom has become a global issue, with voices from all over the world underlining the importance of his freedom.
Some of these internationalists spoke to Medya News about the reasons why they joined the demonstration and explained why the political paradigm developed by Öcalan is important to them.
Listen to the first two interviews here:
Women’s rights activist Elahe from Iran explained that she joined the march to demand the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan because he is an important player in achieving world peace. She highlighted the fact that Öcalan has been held in isolation since 1999 and underlined the importance of his immediate release to be able to play his key role in achieving a peaceful solution to the conflicts and wars of the Middle East.
German activist Marvin explained that for him, the ideas and philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan are a solution to various crises that he, as a German youth, faces in his daily life. “All states are trying to find solutions, but they can’t,” he stressed, saying that he is also very inspired by the people’s revolution in North and East Syria, also known as Rojava, saying that “in Rojava we can see day by day that a different way of living together is possible, a democratic way is possible”.
