Cologne in the sign of freedom: Thousands of demand Öcalan's release!

Cologne in the sign of freedom: Thousands of demand Öcalan's release!

In Cologne, several thousand people gathered into a powerful Kurdish demonstration that is under the haunting motto "Freedom for Öcalan". Abdullah Öcalan, who is known in Germany as head of the forbidden Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), has been in Turkish prison for 25 years. The participants of the demo chanted his name loudly, while the police estimated the number of those present on several thousand.

The police reported a largely peaceful course of the event, although there were occasional smoking pots. The demonstration was briefly stopped to check whether forbidden PKK symbols were shown. A police spokesman warned: "If the suspicion is confirmed, we will initiate procedures accordingly." However, the demonstration quickly continued its way.

emotional atmosphere and safety precautions

The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization in Turkey and the EU and the USA and has been banned in Germany since 1993. Showing PKK symbols is illegal. Before the demo, police operations Bastian Marter expressed that the Situation for many Kurds and Turks living in Germany was "highly emotional", which has an increased potential for conflict. In order to protect the freedom of expression, a high number of emergency services was in use to prevent possible clashes between different opinion groups.

The route of the demonstration led the participants via the Severinsbrücke to the city center of Cologne and back to the starting point. Despite the high expectations, the number of participants remained below 10,000, which the police confirmed. In addition, there were two internal emergencies that were probably caused by the vibrations on a Rhine bridge, similar to a previous demo in February.