Kurds and their friends staged a march in Toronto demanding the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish question.
The demonstration began on Yonge-Bloor Street and proceeded to Dundas Square, where a moment of silence was held in honor of the martyrs of Kurdistan.
Demonstrators also celebrated November 1, World Kobanê Day, and honored all revolutionaries who fell as martyrs in the Kurdistan freedom struggle.
The co-chairs of the Democratic Kurdish Community Center in Canada said in their statement, “Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held in absolute isolation in Imrali Island Prison in Turkey for 27 years. This unjust imprisonment is not only a violation of universal human rights, but also a violation of the hopes of millions of people who see in him the path to peace, democracy, and coexistence.”
The co-chairs stated that Öcalan’s struggle and ideas offer hope and a model for coexistence in peace, freedom, and democracy throughout the Middle East, adding, “Therefore, ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ is not just a slogan, but also a vision for the entire region.”
The co-chairs saluted the central march to be staged in Cologne on November 8 under the slogan “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question,”
“The ‘peace and democratic society’ process announced this year cannot be meaningful without the release of Mr. Öcalan. Both Turkish national law and international law require his immediate release as the first and fundamental step towards lasting peace. His release is the key to justice, democracy, and peace in Kurdistan, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.”
The demonstration concluded with English leaflets being distributed and slogans chanted in support of the Kurdish leader.