Contrary to the Erdoğan regime’s claims that Berlin “supports the PKK”, Germany gave the message that they will continue to do everything they can against the Kurdish freedom movement.

The ARD television network pointed out the new approach towards the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom by the US, Germany’s best ally in the international arena, and their support for the democratic forces in Rojava and Northern Syria, then asked the Interior Ministry whether they will reconsider the PKK ban in light of new developments in the Middle East.

The Interior Ministry’s response clearly means “No”. A ministry spokesperson said, “Like in the past, for us the PKK is an organisation that seeks to achieve their goals through violence.”

The ministry spokesperson pointed to the Federal Constitutional Court verdict in 2010 and said, “The PKK is still a foreign terrorist organization.” This verdict, known as the “Act 129b”, had set off investigations against dozens of Kurdish politicians and many of these politicians had been sentenced to time in prison.

"GERMANY’S APPROACH TO THE MIDDLE EAST IS DIFFERENT"

Editors for the Panorama program broadcast Thursday at 21.45 German time on ARD believe that the clear response by the ministry - that their approach towards the PKK will not change - means that “Berlin wants to say the American cooperation with Kurdish militia on the field doesn’t interest them at all, that they still consider them terrorists”.

This approach is said to possibly signify that Berlin has a different Middle East policy from Washington. The Panorama program also pointed to the harsh treatment of the police against posters of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and YPG flags and commented that “According to Germany, these symbols have turned into PKK flags and are used for PKK propaganda.”

4500 INVESTIGATIONS IN 13 YEARS

In August this year, the Interior Ministry announced that 4500 investigations had been launched in the last 13 years as part of the PKK ban, while 240 people had been put on trial for “membership to a foreign terrorist organization”. And 90 people received harsh prison sentences with accusations of being PKK administrators since 1992.

As of today, 14 Kurdish politicians are held in prisons, while the Federal Prosecutor’s Office has 24 active investigations related to the PKK.

POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST KURDS ON THE RISE

Like in the 1990's, the German police violence against Kurdish protesters is seen to be on the rise. The increasing intolerance of the German police against demonstrations that include posters of Öcalan or PYD, YPG or YPJ flags recently has also garnered attention.

The German Interior Ministry had demanded a ban on flags and banners of various Kurdish political parties and institutions including the PYD, YPG and YPJ in a notice sent to the states on March 2, 2017. The ministry claimed that the notice was an “update” to the PKK ban in place since 1993 in Germany.

Meanwhile, the German government frequently changes its claims regarding the PKK ban. In the past, the ban was said to have been issued due to Turkey’s membership to NATO and Germany’s “foreign interests”, while recently the continuation of the ban is explained away with “German domestic security”.