KON-MED calls for participation in ‘Long March’ in Cologne on September 11

The long march organized by the Kurdish youth movement will kick off in the German city of Cologne on September 11 and will last for five days. The activists demand the freedom of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.

In a written statement, the KON-MED co-chairs said that “Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan has been subjected to aggravated isolation in prison for 22 years. With the isolation in Imrali prison, the Kurdish people have also been put under isolation.”

“The most significant struggle against the Imrali system has been carried out by Öcalan himself with his glorious resistance. Imrali has also become the centre of the war in Kurdistan. The fascist Turkish state and its ruling power, AKP-MHP fascism, are trying to achieve results in the Imrali war by pursuing a policy of annihilation against the Kurdish people. The campaign ‘You Can’t Darken Our Sun’ which started from the first day of the isolation system showed the whole world that a genuine life is not possible without the Kurdish leader. The global isolation system imposed on Öcalan is also an isolation imposed on everyone who stands for freedom and democracy. Opposing and resisting the Imrali isolation system is the most fundamental contemporary task to promote freedom and democracy. The isolation of Öcalan can no longer be accepted or tolerated. The Imrali system must now be destroyed and securing the freedom of Öcalan is our main reason to lead a decent life that cannot be postponed.

Against this genocidal war, the Kurdish people will continue their resistance everywhere by promoting the ‘Dem Dema Azadîye’ [Time for Freedom] campaign until they realize the physical freedom of Öcalan.

On this basis, a 5-day long march will be held on September 11 at 11:00 in Cologne, Germany under the guidance of the Kurdistan Youth Movement in Europe. The purpose of the long march, which has become a tradition initiated by young Kurdish activists who have been physically separated from their homelands and live in Europe, is to secure the physical freedom of Öcalan and to raise awareness for this.”

The activists who will participate in the long march organized as part of the ‘Dest bi Dest – Mil bi Mil: Werin Cenga Azadiyê’ campaign will pass through many cities in the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state.

We call on all our people, in particular all our institutions affiliated to our FED-MED NRW federation, to embrace the long march led by the European Kurdistan Youth Movement in a spirit of mobilization.”