Kurdish cultural associations are stormed on flimsy grounds, Kurdish books are confiscated, social media posts are presented as "evidence", German solidary circles are facing repression because of their solidarity with the Kurds.

It is basically nothing new that Germany stands on the side of the colonial states against the freedom movement of Kurdish society. It is also known that Germany, which directs its foreign policy towards lucrative trade and export surpluses, hastened to help the Turkish state in difficult times. The tensions and crises between the two countries have once again shown us in recent months that they are domestic political games. For example, despite severe human rights violations in occupied Afrin by the Turkish state and fierce public reactions, the German Federal Government has continued its arms deliveries to the Turkish army. In addition, even the modernization of the tanks was prepared, which were prepared for the invasion of Afrin.

Germany has not abandoned this role in the international arena during the attacks on Afrin, which meant a break with international law. Chancellor Merkel made lip service and no sanctions were imposed on Turkey.

While indirectly supporting the crimes of Turkey in Kurdistan this year, the German government was disturbed by the widespread support for the resistance in Afrin and tried to prevent rallies and to extend the bans on Kurdish symbols. So, what is the approach of Germany, which has recently implemented operations similar to the Turkish political genocide operations against the Kurdish freedom movement?

The role of Germany

Known for its historically deep ties with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Germany has assumed international responsibility for the suppression of the Kurdish freedom movement after the PKK's armed struggle began on 15 August 1984. This role has been taken on the one hand because of the Kurdish population living in their country, on the other hand because of its important role within NATO during the Cold War.

The concept of NATO for the suppression of freedom movements was used against the PKK in late 1984 and early 1985. The aim was to break international support for the resistance that had begun in Kurdistan. Important pillars of this concept were the operations against the PKK in the 1980s, not only in Germany but also in a large number of European countries, as well as strong military support for the Turkish state.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Helmut Kohl's government was looking for new methods, given that the number of Kurdish population in Germany was rising due to the migration wave. In order to stifle the Kurdish freedom movement internationally and to severe the Kurds who came to Germany from the resistance, all activities of the PKK were banned. On 26 November 1993, the prohibition was issued.

In the 53-page letter prepared by the then Minister of the Interior, Manfred Kanther, the rallies of the Kurds - with the aim of publicizing the events in Kurdistan - were criminalized, while nothing was said about the crimes of the Turkish state in Kurdistan. On the day of the PKK ban, the news agency KURD-HA, the magazine Berxwedan, the Federation FEYKA-Kurdistan and exactly 30 associations and information centers were closed with the same decision and the corresponding publications ceased. However, despite repression and violence, Kurdish society stood behind their institutions.

A short time later, new institutions were opened. Up to 70 associations rank in the nationwide Kurdish organization YEK-KOM (Federation of Kurdish Associations in Germany).

New operations as a repetition of the old concept

Against this strong organization of the Kurdish freedom movement new concepts and prohibitions were introduced in each phase. In 2010, the PKK was included in the list of "foreign terrorist organizations" by the Federal Constitutional Court. With this decision, the proceedings against Kurds were set to be even easier and could be opened without any evidence or justification.

With the legal arrangement known as "129b act” investigations were initiated against dozens of Kurdish politicians. Bedrettin Kavak, Mehmet Demir, Mustafa Çelik, Kenan Baştu, Ali Özel, Ahmet Çelik, Ali Hıdır Doğan, Zeki Eroğlu and Muhlis Kaya are just some of those sentenced to between two and three and a half years in prison.

While 4.5,000 investigations were initiated under the PKK ban between 2004 and 2017, 240 people were tried for "membership to a foreign terrorist organization". From 1992 to the present, nearly 100 people were sentenced to severe prison terms on charges of being PKK officials.

Germany's goal of imprisoning Kurdish politicians and removing them from resistance is the same as that of the "KCK operations" of the Turkish state in northern Kurdistan. As this concept did not work, the scope of the measures for the German security authorities was further extended.

In 2017 alone, around 130 Kurds were investigated due to the PKK referral. In 2013, this number was still 15, and remained at 20 in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, the number of procedures rose noticeably to 40.

Between 2007 and 2017, 180 investigations were launched against 240 Kurdish politicians and activists. The figures for 2017, on the other hand, almost equal the total number of the last ten years. This is a clear indication of Germany's cooperation with the Erdoğan regime, together against the Kurdish freedom movement.

A similar increase can also be observed in the first two months of 2018. In the context of the Kurdish freedom movement, 50 new investigations were opened in January and February. The federal government linked this increase to the increased number of Kurdish political refugees who had come to Germany because of the "war between the PKK and the Turkish state". The Kurds who escaped from the Erdoğan regime were, in a sense, blacklisted by Germany.

Increase in repression with the January notice

It can also be observed that there has been a violence perpetrated by the German police against Kurdish demonstrators, which is not less than that in the 1990s. The intolerance of the German police against demonstrations with pictures of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and flags of the PYD, YPG and YPJ continues. A circular letter from the German Ministry of the Interior to the federal states on 2 March 2017 called for a ban on a large number of Kurdish political parties and institutions such as the PYD, YPG and YPJ.

On January 29, 2018, a new circular of the Ministry of Interior was published. This six-page letter, whose style is similar to that of AKP officials, calls for a stricter implementation of the PKK ban in the states of Germany. This circular prohibits all PKK-related symbols, writings and slogans. The banishment of Abdullah Öcalan from the public perception is expressly formulated. According to this circular, the operations of the political annihilation campaign against Kurds in Germany picked up speed.  

Rallies in solidarity with the resistance in Afrin and against the crimes of the Turkish state were banned. This procedure was and is not compliant with the promised German rule of law. One of those who sharply criticized this lawlessness against the Kurds was Gerhart Baum, the former Federal Minister of the Interior (1978-1982). The FDP politician criticized the Circular of the Interior Ministry of January 29, 2018, which allows a ban on meetings when there is a suspicion of PKK propaganda: "These are overzealous over-interpretations of the PKK ban. If one means to forbid the unification of the Syrian Kurds, then one would be consistent. But you cannot do this, because there is no reason to do so. Then you cannot punish people who use this symbol. (...) That goes too far. We have a broad, very far-reaching right to demonstrate in Germany. Even if a demonstration is to be feared, it must be approved. (...) To say from the beginning, we assume that the ban is disregarded, that will not work. That's unconstitutional."

A listing of recent "operations of political genocide"

Confiscation of Kurdish books: On March 8, the book publisher Mesopotamia and Mir Multimedia was searched by the German police. After three-day searches, a number of trucks carried away the confiscated books from the book publisher and the music albums, archive and technical material of Mir Multimedia. Thousands of books, including "Kurdish Textbooks", 4,500 cassettes and CDs were confiscated by the police.

Proceedings against MPs: A charge was filed against Deputy Dieter Dehm for allegedly carrying a photograph of Abdullah Öcalan at the Newroz Festival in Hannover on 17 March. During the same period, a case was also brought against Cansu Özdemir, leader of the Left Party in Parliament for Hamburg state with the accusation of having shared a content calling for an end to the PKK ban on social media.

Raids against cultural associations: While Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu was on his way to Berlin on 6 March to visit former Foreign Minister Gabriel, the launch button for raiding Kurdish institutions was pressed. As a "welcome gift" for Çavuşoğlu, five apartments of members of the Kurdish Society Center and the office of "Linksjugend solid" in Erfurt were searched. In the operations, computers, storage devices and telephones were confiscated.

Later, Kurdish associations were raided in turn, following the same procedure as in 1993. On April 5, the Democratic Society Center in Hannover was stormed. A large number of banners and brochures, as well as pictures of fallen guerillas and portraits of Abdullah Öcalan were confiscated.

On June 13, the NAV-DEM association in Berlin was searched. On the same day, the doors of the association "Civaka Azad - Kurdish Center for Public Relations e.V." were smashed and the offices were searched. While in the case of NAV-DEM, a banned solidarity event with Afrin scheduled for 3 December 2017 was put forward as a reason, the search of Civaka Azad took place without a search warrant and was therefore unconstitutional.

Most recently, the Kurdish community center in Bielefeld was searched on 3 July. The police shattered doors and searched the premises for four hours. Again, many books, photographs and flags were confiscated.

Repression against Solidary German circles: With the beginning of the attacks of the Turkish state on Afrin different social circles in Germany voiced solidarity with the people in Afrin. Even in cities where Kurds did not live, solidarity events took place.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Saxony (Sachsen) units published a report titled “Strong solidarity by the radical Geran left with PKK supporters”. The report specifically pointed out the demonstrations condemning the Turkish state invasion in Afrin held in Eastern provinces of Dresden, Leipzig, Görlitz, Bautzen and Chemnitz.

The Bavarian police, on the other hand, are more interested in social media posts. This goes so far that the security authorities in Munich list German citizens’ posts with YPG/YPJ flags among the politically motivated crimes in their annual report. While the number of preliminary investigations in this context was 65 in 2016, it rose to 114 in 2017. In 2018 the repression is still going on.