Many writers, journalists, politicians, artists, and human rights activists launched a global campaign on 10 October 2023, demanding the lifting of the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan and securing his physical freedom, as well as a political solution to the Kurdish question.
Initiated simultaneously in 74 cities around the world by friends of the Kurdish people under the slogan “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question,” the campaign has now reached its third year. Over the past two years, Öcalan’s ideas have been widely discussed in streets, universities, and major international centers. His freedom has also been voiced in mass demonstrations and public gatherings. Prominent politicians, writers, journalists, and artists have joined global initiatives supporting these demands throughout the campaign.
As part of the campaign, two major marches have already been held in Cologne, Germany. Marking its third year, another march and rally will take place on 8 November 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in Cologne’s Deutzer Werft, under the slogan “Political Solution to the Kurdish Question, Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan.”
Kerem Gök, Co-chair of the Confederation of Kurdish Communities in Germany (KON-MED), spoke to ANF about the meaning and goals of the upcoming march and rally in Cologne.
The ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign has entered its third year. As KON-MED, what would you like to say about this new phase?
As KON-MED, we are both a political and a civil society organization. Being a people’s institution, our structure has naturally developed in response to the needs, conditions, and realities faced by the Kurdish people. Those who work within our organization have built themselves upon this foundation; their practice, perspective, and approach have all been shaped accordingly. What kind of foundation is this? We can say that it belongs to the Kurdish people who, despite being one of the world’s largest stateless nations, still live with a banned language and an unrecognized identity. Many were forced to migrate here because of oppression in their own homeland.
Some Kurds came to Germany for economic reasons, some after their villages were burned, and others were exiled due to state-imposed penalties.
If we look at it from an economic perspective, the Kurdish people and their lands have long been systematically and deliberately underdeveloped. The system sought to keep them unaware, unorganized, and leaderless, exploiting both their underground and aboveground resources to control them. Although the population grew, industrial infrastructure was never developed.
In this sense, even those who migrated for economic reasons did so as a result of the colonial mindset that imposed economic, cultural, and political pressure, policies of annihilation and denial. The Kurdish people were left with no choice but to leave. Therefore, our very existence and future work are tied to the status of Kurdistan and the resolution of the Kurdish question. Öcalan has fought for many years to build a more just, rational, and free system for the recognition of the Kurdish people’s rights and the freedom of all oppressed peoples. His freedom therefore represents the freedom of the Kurdish people. It means rejecting statelessness, rejecting enslavement, and rejecting annihilation and denial.
From our regular meetings to the upcoming march in Cologne on November 8, all our diplomatic, cultural, artistic, ecological, and legal efforts will continue to focus on the political solution to the Kurdish question and the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.
Another crucial issue for us is that the ongoing talks and contacts must turn into a true negotiation process for resolving the Kurdish question and ensuring Mr. Öcalan’s physical freedom. Both the Kurdish people and European society have recognized Mr. Öcalan as the chief negotiator in the face of the war in the Middle East.
As an institution, we once again emphasize our demand for Mr. Öcalan’s physical freedom and for direct dialogue to be carried out with civil society organizations, the Kurdish people, political parties, and institutions.
For us, Öcalan’s freedom is vital, it is essential for the Kurdish people, for our institution, and for the establishment of peace and a democratic society.
A march will be held in Cologne on 8 November. Could you speak about its significance?
In 2023, a new initiative was launched under the name “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Solution to the Kurdish Question.” It was started in 74 different centers across five continents by circles outside the Kurdish community. This was a response to those who, under current conditions, are trying to resolve the issue through coercive means. The initiative drew its motivation from Öcalan’s paradigm.
What we witnessed was a movement in which non-Kurdish segments, inspired by Öcalan’s paradigm, put forward the call “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question.”
So far, we have organized two marches in Cologne as part of this initiative. Both were truly impressive. Through these marches, messages were delivered to European institutions and to occupying states, while a picture also emerged in which our people and other peoples came together, different colors and cultures meeting on common ground.
We saw how Öcalan’s paradigm has become international and the extent of the boundaries it has reached.
The initiative sent messages to social and political spheres alike, as well as to the region’s status-quo powers. I believe these circles received those messages. The level of popular participation and the embrace of Öcalan created pressure on certain institutions and led them to take decisions. As one example, we can point to the inclusion of the “right to hope” on the agendas of the Council of Europe and the United Nations.
What distinguishes this year’s march from previous ones?
This year’s march is both different and urgent. Whereas earlier demonstrations demanded that the isolation be broken and that demand was partially achieved.
This march declares: enough is enough: Abdullah Öcalan must be removed from Imralı. We view Öcalan as the representative of some 60 million Kurds; keeping the political representative of 60 million people confined behind four walls is anti-democratic and a trampling of Kurdish rights.
This is a test. Where in the world can the political representative of a people or nation be held in detention? Could such a situation occur in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, or Germany? Yet the Kurdish political will has been kept in Imralı under severe isolation since February 15, 1999.
A dialogue has begun, and we must call on European institutions that claim to uphold democracy, the rule of law, and rights to act in line with their founding principles and fulfill their responsibilities, because those rights exist within their legal frameworks. Öcalan must be released immediately. Every hour he remains in Imralı is a loss for democracy. Therefore, we say: remove Öcalan from Imralı at once and abolish the Imralı system. No one should pursue policies of denial and extermination against the Kurdish people; those policies do not work and only lead to more bloodshed.
These policies harm all societies. Peace must be achieved. Öcalan is a central actor in advancing peace and democratic society for oppressed and exploited peoples.
The march is participation in the call for peace and a democratic society
Finally, what would you like to say about the significance of the November 8 rally and march in Cologne?
On 8 November, we must all go to Cologne under the leadership of women and young people, together with other communities as well. We will once again remind all institutions and forces that this march will be a declaration of will to advance and strengthen the process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan.
Through this march, we aim to highlight peaceful methods and make visible the practical role of Öcalan in the process he has developed. His “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society” on 27 February was a call both for achieving peace with state powers and for democratizing society.
We are a democratic organization; we believe in resolving problems through dialogue. Öcalan has already opened the paths of diplomacy and dialogue for us, he has provided the ground for it. Therefore, participation in this march also means joining the “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society” issued on 27 February.
In this sense, this year’s march is different and more significant than previous ones. The Kurdish question is decisive not only for the Kurdish people but also for all peoples of the Middle East. A dialogue- and solution-based approach towards Kurdistan will influence other regional issues as well.
Participation in this march means supporting Öcalan’s call. It is a vital, historical step of great significance.