On 1 December, around 80 German political and civil society organisations will march in Berlin to mark the 25th anniversary of the ban of the PKK by Germany.

The march will be held with the slogan ‘The demand for freedom cannot be forbidden - common struggle against the police law, the PKK ban and nationalism’.

In a written statement, Kongra Gel co-presidency council called for strong participation in the march.

Kongra-Gel said: “We invite our German friends and all Kurds living in Germany, who are in favor of freedom and democracy, to ensure maximum participation to this rally. The specificity of this march  is that it has been organised by German political and non-governmental organizations and intellectuals. Many organisations from different sectors but with democracy as their core demand will be joining the march”. 

The message to the German state was clear: “It has played a very negative role in the 25 years since it criminalized the PKK and has been criminalizing the Kurdish question by supporting the Turkish state's physical and cultural genocide policies targeting the Kurdish people. As the PKK ban was effective in leaving the Kurdish problem unsolved, the consequences of the war created by lack of solution in Kurdistan were negatively reflected throughout Europe”.

These policies, said Kongra-Gel, “negatively affected the lives of the Kurds living in Germany in a multidimensional way, and also reflected negatively on many aspects of the democratic life of German society. Therefore, the rejection of the ban on the PKK in German society is growing.”

The statement ended with a call “to reiterate once again that demand for freedom cannot be forbidden.”