An election campaign event of the top candidate of the Left Party with prominent Kurdish guests took place in Hamburg on Sunday. Cansu Özdemir, leader of the left-wing parliamentary group, was born in Hamburg as the child of Kurdish parents and is active not only in her party but also in the Kurdish community. To support her, exiled politicians Osman Baydemir, Ahmet Yildirim and Leyla Imret came to Hamburg two weeks before the elections. Baydemir was Mayor of the Kurdish metropolis Amed (Diyarbakir) and later a member of parliament for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). Yildirim was also an HDP member of parliament, and Leyla Imret was co-mayor of Şırnak’s Cizre district, which had been destroyed by the Turkish state. All three had to leave Turkey due to political persecution and now live in Europe.

"We are proud of Cansu"

Hundreds of Kurds took part in the event at the Phoenix Center in Harburg. Leyla Imret said in her speech that the Kurdish people everywhere are fighting for their existence: "We are proud that there are politicians like Cansu Özdemir. Erdoğan and his party AKP do not want us to do democratic politics. They are afraid of us. Despite all oppression, our people resist everywhere and want to govern themselves.”

Ahmet Yildirim said: "Wherever we are in the world, our hearts and minds are in the struggle of our people. If we organize ourselves and build alliances, no power can defeat us. In order not to lose another century, we must take advantage of the current situation. We must also get involved in European politics. Of course we must adapt to the way of life in the countries where we are now, but in doing so we must not forget our own culture. Cansu Özdemir's success is the success of us all. We should not be content with going to the polls, but also feel responsible for ensuring that the people around us cast their votes.”

"Best response to fascism"

Osman Baydemir said in his speech: "The election success of Cansu Özdemir is the best answer we can give to fascism. The despots may fragment us into pieces, but we will never give up Kurdistan. The fascist AKP regime puts our mayors in prison in Turkey, but in European politics young women like Cansu Özdemir resolutely take their place. Erdoğan will eventually end up like Saddam. If we stick together and form a unity, the walls on Imrali will collapse and also politicians like Selahattin Demirtaş, Gülten Kışanak and Figen Yüksekdağ will go free".

Most popular opposition politician in Hamburg

Cansu Özdemir is the most prominent opposition politician in Hamburg and follows in the popularity scale the first mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) and the second mayor Katharina Fegebank (The Greens). According to a survey by Trend Research Hamburg on 10 February, DIE LINKE currently receives ten percent of the votes in Hamburg.

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