Kurds resume protests in Paris, demanding protection

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A large number of Kurds on Saturday held protests in Paris, calling on the French authorities to protect them, prosecute perpetrators of the December shooting incident and reveal the results of investigations about the 2015 assassinations. 

In late December, a 69-year-old man attacked the Ahmet Kaya Kurdish Cultural Centre in Rue d'Enghien street, Paris. Three people were killed and three others were injured in the shooting. The dead bodies of the victims were returned to the Kurdistan Region and southeast Turkey (Bakur) earlier this week. 

The incident has sparked protests by the Kurdish diaspora in Paris, calling on the authorities to punish the perpetrators and defend Kurds against possible similar attacks in the future. 

Kurds resumed their protests on Saturday, with a large number of them rallying in the French capital city, according to Rudaw’s Znar Shino. The protests coincide with the anniversary of the 2015 assassination of three Kurds in the same city, including Sakine Cansiz, a founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The demonstrators raised the portraits of the six victims. 

The suspect behind the December 23 shooting incident has been charged with “murder” and “attempted murder.”