Large-scale police operation
4,000 Kurds rail against Erdogan in Berlin
November 18, 2023, 8:53 p.m
The PKK has been banned in Germany since 1993 because of terrorist activities. In a large protest, several thousand Kurds are demanding that the ban be lifted. They also rail against the policies of Turkish President Erdogan.
According to police reports, around 4,000 people demonstrated in Berlin against the ban on the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and the policies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The organizers of the demonstration counted 6,000 participants. The demonstrators marched from Kreuzberg to Schlossplatz in Berlin-Mitte in the afternoon. Speeches criticized the policies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Berlin on Friday. The Turkish head of state was called a terrorist in chants.
The PKK has been banned in Germany since 1993 because of terrorist activities. The movement has its origins in the Kurdish settlement areas within Turkey. It fights for the political autonomy of Kurdish-populated areas in Turkey and partly in neighboring countries. Its military wing carries out attacks on military and civilian targets.
Movement complains about police violence
The organizing committee of the demonstration criticized the fact that there had been violent police operations, particularly at the final rally. According to the police, a demonstrator was arrested on charges of grievous bodily harm. He is said to have hit a police officer with a flagpole. According to the police, there were further isolated arrests, among other things, on suspicion of using anti-constitutional symbols.
According to a police spokesman, clashes broke out at the end of the demonstration when police wanted to check the identity of a demonstrator who had previously shouted banned slogans. A few fireworks rockets were also launched on the sidelines of the demonstration. Bengal fire was also seen several times.
The police were represented in the city with a larger contingent. A total of 3,000 police officers were deployed in Berlin throughout the day on Saturday: at the Kurdish demonstration, but also at a pro-Palestinian demonstration and in the evening at the friendly football match between Germany and Turkey in the Olympic Stadium.
Erdogan in criticism
Erdogan’s visit was also accompanied by sharp criticism regarding the Middle East conflict. The Turkish head of state had recently criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip more and more vehemently and branded the country a “terrorist state”. The Turkish president also made accusations of fascism against Israel, which Scholz rejected as “absurd”.
The chairman of the German-Turkish parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Max Lucks from the Greens, called for arms exports to Turkey and Hermes guarantees for German companies operating in Turkey to be examined in view of Erdogan’s support for the Islamist Hamas.