The Confederation of Kurdistan Societies in Germany (KON-MED), the largest Kurdish organisation in Germany, has announced a series of forthcoming demonstrations across multiple German cities on 2 September. They demand an immediate end to the 30-month long incommunicado detention of jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The announcement comes as the Kurdish community in Germany raises its voice against the prolonged isolation of Öcalan. The PKK leader has been held in absolute isolation in a prison on the Turkish island of İmralı, with no information about his well-being for almost two and a half years. During this period of time, Öcalan has been denied meetings with his legal counsel and family.
KON-MED’s call for action is a response to what they view as a grave violation of human rights.
In a statement released on Wednesday, KON-MED urged the Kurdish community and their supporters to actively participate in the demonstrations, which have been entitled “Advocating for Kurdish Rights, Ensuring Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan”. The statement also emphasised the centenary of the Treaty of Lausanne, a significant historical event that divided the Kurdish people into multiple states.
“The intensification of incursions into Kurdistan has followed the imposition of isolation on leader Öcalan. In the face of this transgression against humanity, international institutions and relevant nations have opted for silence. As a response, we, the Kurdish community, are gearing up to take to the streets to break this silence. Our pursuit of Kurdish rights and the physical liberation of leader Öcalan will be heightened,” stated KON-MED.
The scheduled demonstrations are planned to take place simultaneously in several cities. In Dusseldorf, the assembly is set to occur in front of DGB Haus at 13:00. In Berlin, a gathering is planned at Breitscheidplatz at 16:00 and in Hamburg participants will converge in front of Hauptbahnhof at 15:00.
In addition to the local events in Germany, a central rally will take place in Strasbourg, France, which will include participants from France, Switzerland, and southern Germany. The rally is scheduled to start at 10:00 in Strasbourg’s Republic Square.
