Jelpke: The report is an admission that the PKK ban doesn’t work

MP Ulla Jelpke protested the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution criminalizing and targeting Kurdish institutions and said, “PKK having more members in Germany than last year is an admission that bans don't work."

Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) had announced its 2017 report last Tuesday. The report says the PKK has preserved its strength with regards to previous years, and that there are 14.500 “members or supporters” of the PKK in Germany. This number had been cited as 14.000 last year.

The report had also criminalized and targeted Kurdish Democratic Society Center (NAV-DEM) Germany, Azadî who fight for the rights of Kurdish prisoners and Kurdish media institutions like the Yeni Özgür Politika. Die Linke MP Ulla Jelpke, one of the prominent names in Germany who knows the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom well, protested the BfV and criticized the analyses made in the report.

“THE PKK BAN DOESN’T DO ANYBODY ANY GOOD”

Jelpke, also a spokesperson for domestic affairs in federal parliamentary opposition Die Linke, spoke to the ANF about the report. Jelpke demanded that the federal government led by Merkel stop criminalization policies against Kurds and stated that “the PKK ban doesn’t do anybody any good.”

Jelpke pointed out that currently there are great opportunities to remove the PKK ban that was instated in Germany in 1993 and said: “According to the latest report, the number of PKK members in Germany has increased, and that is an admission that the bans don’t work. The ban serves no other purpose than to placate Turkey, a NATO member.”

The German MP said Kurdish German citizens in the country are facing bans for merely stating they are in solidarity with the Kurdish freedom movement and that it is a violation of constitutional rights.

“INTELLIGENCE AGENCY IS OPENLY ATTACKING PRESS FREEDOM”

The German politician also condemned the BfV calling the Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper, which is published legally and officially in Germany, a “PKK newspaper” and said: “The intelligence agency’s goal is to prevent the publication of news related to the Kurdish freedom struggle and the people learning of the war crimes committed by the Turkish state, a NATO ally.”

Jelpke also pointed out that the German intelligence agency shares the Turkish state’s approach of considering such publications “terrorism” and, on the BfV’s comments targeting Yeni Özgür Politika, said: “This is an open attack against press freedom.”

“THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY IS UTILIZING ERDOĞAN’S TACTICS”

A section that stood out in the German intelligence report for 2017 was the allegations that the campaigns for a “No” vote in the April 16 referendum for the constitutional amendment in Turkey were organized by PKK supporters. The German MP criticized these analyses harshly and pointed out the following:

“During the process of the referendum that paved the way to a dictatorial regime, various democratic forces including HDP, social democrats, liberals and Alevi institutions in Europe as well as Turkey came together under an umbrella ‘No’ campaign. The intelligence agency attributing such a wide-based campaign to the PKK is similar to Erdoğan’s tactics, he himself had also accused all his opponents of terrorism during the vote too.

And, if like they say the PKK mobilized its supporters against a one-man dictatorship and organized the campaigns, that would mean that they are actually working for the democratization of Turkey and contrary to what the BfV claims, are not a terrorist organization.”

MP Ulla Jelpke also pointed out the comments on MİT’s activity in Germany and AKP regime institutions UETD and DITIB, while issuing the following call: “Whatever these analyses require must be done urgently. For instance, state aid for DITIB, the Turkish state’s religious affairs institution, must be stopped. But it seems that the federal government feels the need to take action against Turkish left and Kurdish groups.”