Paris: the Kurdish community pay tribute to the three Kurdish activists murdered in 2013

Almost ten years to the day after the assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris, several thousand people from all over Europe marched in the capital on Saturday to pay tribute to them.

Thousands of people from France and elsewhere marched through the streets of Paris this Saturday, in tribute to three Kurdish activists murdered in 2013 in the capital. Almost ten years to the day after the tragedy, this annual march brought together 25,000 demonstrators according to the organizers and 10,000 people according to the Paris police headquarters.

Motorcade under high security

Supervised by a very present order service, the procession set off at the end of the morning from the Gare du Nord behind a black banner crossed out with photos of the three militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed in 2013 and the slogan “the Turkish State has again massacred 3 Kurds in Paris”. “Nothing can stop the freedom of the Kurds”, “Truth and justice”, “We want justice”, chanted the demonstrators while rallying the place of the Republic passing by the places of the triple murders of 2013 and 2022, the Center Kurdistan Information Center (CIK) located in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

The anger of the Kurdish community

The triple murder committed on December 23 aroused the anger of the Kurds of France who, despite the statements of the suspect and the first elements of the investigation delivered by the prosecution, continue to implicate Turkey. The Kurdish community has multiplied the gatherings in the capital since these crimes. Violent incidents had punctuated one of them, on December 24.

It was there that on the night of January 9 to 10, 2013, activists Sakine Cansiz, 54, Fidan Dogan, 28, and Leyla Saylemez, 24, were killed by multiple bullets to the head. Their alleged assassin, Omer Güney, was quickly imprisoned but he died at the end of 2016 in prison, a few weeks before the opening of his trial before an assize court. The French justice investigation, which had pointed to the “involvement” of the Turkish intelligence services (MIT) without, however, designating sponsors, is continuing. MIT has officially denied any involvement.

This tribute, which brings together the Kurdish community from all over Europe, also comes a few days after the shock of the assassination, in the center of Paris, of three Kurds by a 69-year-old man, who confessed while in custody view to have acted by “hate become pathological” of foreigners. The triple murder committed on December 23 aroused the anger of the Kurds of France who, despite the statements of the suspect and the first elements of the investigation delivered by the prosecution, continue to implicate Turkey.

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Gabriel MIHAI

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