70 people from 13 countries will march from Luxembourg to Strasbourg from 1 to 11 February to demand freedom for Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The Long March, to be staged with the motto 'Freedom For Öcalan, Status for Kurdistan', will begin following a press briefing in front of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on February 1, and end in Strasbourg 10 days later.

The march will be participated by a total of 70 people from 13 countries in addition to representatives of Kurdish institutions in Europe.

Participants of the march will denounce the unlawful practices of the Turkish state and ask the Council of Europe (CoE), Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and European Union (EU) why they do not abide by their own criteria and why they do not object to the isolation of Öcalan. They will also have a series of talks with municipalities and non-governmental organisations on their course.

French artist Sarah Mauriaucourt, Catalan activist Clara Lluraj and Argentinian Doctor Daniel Maraz, who are among the participants of the march, spoke to ANF as to the reason and goal of their participation in the action.

Sarah Mauriaucourt states that she supports, in general, every people in the world who fight for their rights, and that she supports, of course, the Kurdish people for their liberation and their leader Abdullah Öcalan because she thinks their proposition for humanity is very important for the political and social issues, in Europe, in the world, in Kurdistan in general.

As to why she joins the event, she tells the followings: “I want to join this march because I think people have to know the truth about what’s happening now in Kurdistan and we have to stop every diplomatic or economic relationship with the regime of Erdoğan in Turkey. We have to fight for the liberation of Abdullah Öcalan, who is in jail for political reasons. And I want to say to the European people, don’t believe what you are told in the media. The Kurdish liberation is something more than just a local issue in Kurdistan or Turkey, it’s something for all the humanity and all the oppression and the liberation in the world. And so, it’s important for us to know what is happening in Turkey to exert pressure on our governments to stop every relationship. And also, I want to say to the European institution, if you defend human rights like you say, you have to defend human rights for everybody, not just when it’s strategic for you. Also, I want to say to the Kurdish people, in Europe we are fighting with you, and we support you. You are not alone. And thank you very much for your struggle. Because your struggle is also our struggle.”

Clara Lluraj from the Platform of Solidarity with the Kurdish People in Catalonia says she will join the march because she thinks the activists have to show this solidarity with the Kurdish people.

Clara Lluraj tells that: “We have to speak with people in Europe to show them what is happening in Kurdistan and what the proposition of the Kurdish people is. And I want to show that there are people who want to change this thinking in racist and patriarchal Europe, and to show their solidarity with the oppressed peoples. I want to say to the European institutions who participate economically and politically with the Erdoğan regime in Turkey: We demand from our European institutions and human rights institutions who participate in the Erdoğan regime and in the process of the incarceration of Öcalan, if they have the power to support politics of Turkey, they also have the power to do the opposite and to help the Kurdish people, and to have a solution for the liberation of the leader Abdullah Öcalan and a solution for the recognition of the Kurdish people. I am in solidarity with the Kurdish issue. You are not alone, from Europe, we are with you. And, Bijî Kurdistan.”

Another participant of the Long March from Luxembourg to Strasbourg is Daniel Maraz from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Daniel Maraz tells the followings as to his goal with participation in the action: “I want to join this march to tell people about the reality in Kurdistan and what is happening to people there. I want to talk about solidarity and to talk about the terrible conditions of incarceration for Abdullah Öcalan. When I return from this march, I want to speak of this experience. For me, I want to speak about solidarity because solidarity among the different peoples of the world is very important and is fundamental for the internationalist struggle.”