At the call of the Nantes Kurdish People’s Assembly, hundreds of people took to the streets in the French city of Nantes to condemn the International Conspiracy launched on October 9, 1998, and to demand the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.
The international conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan began on 9 October 1998 with his forced departure from Syria and culminated in Ankara on 15 February 1999. Since then, Öcalan has been held captive on Imrali Island.
The Co-Chairs of the Nantes Assembly, along with numerous Kurds and dozens of internationalists attended the demonstration on Saturday.
The march began at Commerce Square and continued to Royal Square. Throughout the march, the crowd chanted slogans such as “Long Live Leader Öcalan” and “No Leader, No Life,” demanding the freedom of the Kurdish leader.
The march was followed by a rally at Place Royale Square, which began with a moment of silence in memory of the martyrs of the Kurdistan freedom struggle.
Speaking on behalf of the Nantes Kurdish Women’s Assembly, Ezgi Elbistan stated that they were followers and pioneers of the process initiated by Öcalan with his February 27 ‘Call for Peace and Democratic Society’, and called on all people to participate strongly in the process.