Thousands of people gathered in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Saturday to stage a march in protest against Turkey’s latest incursion into the Kurdistan Region in Iraq (KRI) that was launched on the 17th of April.
In one of the largest demonstrations against the Turkish attack, political figures, NGO representatives, activists of women’s groups, artists, and political exiles joined in the ‘Defend Kurdistan’ march.
The protestors started to gather in front of DGB Haus in Düsseldorf early in the morning.
Occupation of KRI territories by Turkey, alleged use of chemical weapons by Turkey during the incursion, the collaboration between the KRI’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Turkish administration, and the silence of the Western states in the face of Turkey’s violations of international law have been protested by demonstrators.
Zübeyde Zümrüt, the co-chair of the Kurdistan Communities in Germany (KON-MED), journalist Feridun Kuncirinî, Yüksel Koç, the co-chair of the Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress in Europe (KCDK-E), İbrahim Alipur, representative for the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), Jules el-Khatib, representative for Die Linke, and İlahe Sadr, Iranian women’s rights activist, made addresses before the march.
A mass rally will be held in front of the state parliament following the march.