Kurds in Strasbourg demand that Ocalan be freed

Today about 15 thousand Kurds took part in a demonstration in Strasbourg, demanding the release of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence in a Turkish prison since February 1999.

The demonstration was timed to coincide with another anniversary of the arrest of Kurdish politicians by Turkish secret services on February 15th 1999.

"We were all ready to find a political solution to the Kurdish problem, but the Turkish authorities froze the peace negotiations, in spite of the fact that a settlement of the conflict was very close," Ocalan's niece Dilek stated at the rally. "17 years have passed since his imprisonment, but he does not give up, he still is a member of the resistance movement. The Turkish authorities have not achieved their goal by arresting him," TASS quoted her as saying.