JIHADIST AND ETHNO-NATIONALIST TERRORISM AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM | SITUATION In October 2017, rumours about the state of Öcalan's health led to – mainly peaceful – demonstrations across Europe. The participants in the rallies were protesting in particular against the ban on visits imposed by the Turkish government. In Switzerland, most of the protest actions passed off without violence. The PKK leadership ensured this by closely monitoring young activists, in particular, but also its left-wing extremist supporters. The amount of money raised to support the Kurdish cause was up compared with previous years. At present, the mood among PKK supporters is one of frustration because they feel that Europe's stance toward the conflict in the Kurdish regions is too passive. Terrorism-related financial transactions In Switzerland, there is currently little financial activity suspected of funding terrorism. Nonetheless, in 2017 a slight increase was recorded in transactions out of and into Switzerland that were suspected of serving Islamist or jihadist purposes. These mainly involved small amounts, which are hard to trace. The most reliable indicator is provided by the suspicious activity reports (SARs) sent by Swiss financial intermediaries to the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS), on which MROS issues a public report annually. 42 SI TUATIO N R E P O RT 2018 | F I S