The Long March held in Europe yearly to demand freedom for Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, has been staged in Germany this year under the lead of Revolutionary Youth Movement (Tevgera Ciwanên Şoreşger) and Free Young Women (Jinên Ciwan ên Azad).

The march was launched in Bonn on September 9 with the participation of around 150 Kurdish and internationalist youth from Germany, France, Switzerland, England and other European countries. Held under the motto “Together with Reber Apo, destroy fascism”, the march continues with resolve despite the obstruction attempts of the German police.

The final stage of the march from Düsseldorf to Monchengladbach has kicked off early this morning in rainy weather. Women are leading the march today, carrying photos of Zeynep Kınacı (Zilan) who fell a martyr in an action of self-sacrifice in Dersim in 1996, with an inscription on them reading “Zilan is the resistance of history and women”.

The activists are expected to conclude the march in Mönchengladbach at 18:00 in the evening. The five-day march will be followed by seminars on ecology and Jineoloji (Women’s Science) organised by young women. A following discussion will handle “What kind of a struggle?”.