Thousands attend the Kurdish festival in Frankfurt

Tens of thousands of people are taking part in the 31st International Kurdish Cultural Festival in Frankfurt.

The 31st International Kurdish Cultural Festival is taking place today at Rebstockpark in Frankfurt. Tens of thousands of people have arrived at the festival site since early morning. The participants come from all over Germany as well as from other European countries. Many Kurds wear traditional clothes and yellow-red-green flags. The mood is exuberant, and people began dancing already before the programme began, displaying banners that demand recognition of Kurdistan and freedom for Abdullah Öcalan. Kurdish culture is presented at stalls, and, among other things, books and clothes are offered.

The motto of the cultural festival is "100 years after the Treaty of Lausanne: Resolution of the Kurdish Question, Freedom for Öcalan, Status for Kurdistan". The event is dedicated to the memory of the Kurds Evîn Goyî, Mîr Perwer and Abdurrahman Kızıl who were murdered in Paris on 23 December 2022.

According to the organisers, the following programme is planned:

*Opening and minute of silence by the moderators Yilmaz Kaba and Hakime Yousef.

*Opening speeches by Engin Sever and Zübeyde Zümrüt of KCDK-E as well as Kerem Gök and Ruken Akça of KON-MED

*Greetings by Elfriede Jelinek and Konstantin Wecker

*Women's music group Kevana Zerin

*Armand Zorn, Member of Parliament SPD

*Cinevision on the 30-year history of the festival

*Arabic music group Göksel & Ensemble

*Greetings from Kurdish organisations

*Singer from Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) Jalê Sineyî

*Berdan Öztürk (Member of Parliament of the Green Left Party and Co-Chairman of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK)

*Kurdish dance group

*RA Ömer Güneş - Mahmut Şakar

*Meryem Fatihi, Spokesperson KJAR-Europe (Community of Free Women from Rojhilat)

*Singer Şemdîn

*Greeting from TJK-E (Kurdish Women's Movement in Europe)

*Video clip of Konstantin Wecker "Shame on Europe" with Kurdish subtitles

*Music group Silbûs û Tarî

*Greeting of the Kurdish Youth Movement

*Sherif Omeri and band