The Movement for Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK) has called for Kabyles and friends of Kabylia to join a “great march” in Paris, France, on April 14 to advocate for the region’s independence from Algeria, according to a press release issued on Wednesday by Kabylia’s News Agency (SIWEL).
The march in the French capital, which is being organized under the slogan “Yes to Kabylia’s people right to self-determination,” is part of a series of annual peaceful gatherings attended by tens of thousands of Kabylians and supporters, to raise awareness of the resistance and resilience of the Kabyle people, who are engaged in a peaceful struggle for their legitimate right to self-determination, and to condemn the Algerian regime’s brutal oppression of the Kabyle people, explained the press release.
MAK and the Provisional Kabyle Government in exile (known as ANAVAD) have organized this annual event as a peaceful platform to assert the Kabyle people’s legitimate right to freedom and to mobilize solidarity with hundreds of Kabyles who have been detained by the Algerian regime on trumped up charges and are facing death sentences and/or imprisonment in Algeria due to their identity.
The march will also serve as a commemoration of the “Kabyle Springs” of 1980-1981 and 2001, during which Algerian security forces violently clashed with Kabyle protesters, resulting in more than 120 deaths and 5,000 injuries.
“Kabylia is moving with determination towards its long-awaited goal: independence,” ANAVAD President Ferhat Mehenni stated. ANAVAD has also announced plans to “publicly proclaim the rebirth of the Kabyle State” on April 20, 2024, a defining turning point in its peaceful struggle toward statehood.