Thousands of Kurds from all over Germany came together in Frankfurt on Saturday to celebrate the Kurdish New Year festival Newroz and to support the Kurds' fight for independence. The police spoke in the afternoon of around 30,000 participants.

In addition to the brightly colored glittering festive dresses of many women and girls, there were also numerous uniform-like clothes reminiscent of the Kurdish Peshmerga troops in the Kurdish Autonomous Region in Iraq.

The struggle of women in Iran for more rights, which was triggered by the death of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini last September, was also repeatedly recalled. In addition to flags in the Kurdish colors of red, yellow and green, there were also numerous flags with portraits of people who were imprisoned or killed for their political activities in Turkey, Iran and other countries.

Forbidden images shown

Contrary to the conditions, pictures of the imprisoned leader of the Kurdish Workers' Party PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, could also be seen. Since the PKK is classified as a terrorist organization in Germany, no PKK and Öcalan flags were allowed. The organizers called for the flags to be removed, folders also stepped in and asked rally participants to roll up the flags.

This year's festival is also dedicated to commemorating the victims of the February 6 earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria. The earthquake happened in a region with many Kurdish residents.

In addition to political messages, there was also music on the stage, many people dancing to the lively rhythms on the muddy ground after a downpour, while smoke billowed from numerous barbecue stands. For many participants, Newroz was a colorful festival with encounters with compatriots from all over Germany.