A joint demonstration will be held in Berlin on December 1 organized by several NGOs to protest the PKK ban, racism and the police law. The organization committee pointed out that the PKK ban and racism must be fought together.
The PKK ban issued by the German state on November 26, 1993 will enter it 25th year next week. Conferences and events are held on the damage the ban has had on the Kurds in the country and the German democracy. A mass demonstration will be held on December 1 in Berlin for the 25th anniversary of the ban.
Many NGOs, scientists, human rights defenders, academics, lawyers, MPs and journalists called for the march and the rally under the title, “The demand for freedom can’t be banned - joint struggle against the Police Act, PKK ban and nationalism”.
“ANTI-KURDISH POLITICS IS TIED TO RACISM”
The march to be attended by political parties, union representatives, feminists, various leftist groups and anti-fascists will begin from the Neptunbrunnen in Alexanderplatz at 12:00 on December 1. The preparation committee spoke to the ANF and said they want all who stand for democracy to attend the march in Berlin on December 1.
The preparation committee pointed out that the PKK ban, racism and the Police Act the government wants to pass are on the agenda for German leftist circles and added: “Unfortunately, the German left takes incidents and facts on the agenda separately. We want to break that cycle, and see the big picture, stating that the PKK ban, racism and the Police Act must be fought together.”
“GERMANY IMPORTS LAWS FROM TURKEY”
The committee stated that interest for the PKK is rising among the German population on one hand, and Germany is strengthening its cooperation with the dictatorial regime in Turkey on the other, and added that the three issues have been connected historically. The committee said the PKK ban in 1993 coincided with the national rupture following the two Germanies and continued:
“There was a nationalist wave in Germany at the time, refugee camps were being set on fire by Nazis and people were being killed. Now we are facing a worse situation than that. The ultra-populist right wing AfD is on the rise, and politics in the country is leaning right. Racist and anti-semitic attacks are increasing, and the government wants to pass harsh laws at the same time.
We consider the Police Act they want to pass as part of the same framework. If the new law passes, the police will be able to detain people for up to a week without any courts. We know this law from Turkey, where persons voicing their opinions against the government and defenders of peace are being criminalized. Here, the police bans symbols without any reason.”
“THE BAN PREVENTS DISCUSSIONS OF THE KURDISH ISSUE”
The committee said there is no fact in the hundreds of cases against the Kurdish politicians and activists in Germany that would constitute a crime, and that only the PKK ban is used as an excuse: “The ban also prevents open discussions of the Kurdish issue. There is great sympathy for the PKK among the German populace especially for rescuing Yazidis from the ISIS genocide. And the PKK is also popular because it resists against Erdogan’s dictatorship. To be honest, these people don’t think the PKK is a terrorist organization.”
The preparation committee added that despite the sympathy among the German public, the Federal German government extended the PKK ban to symbols of the PYD, YPG and YPJ as well and added that German left is being targeted more and more every day due to these symbols. The committee also pointed out that the PKK was banned on the Turkish state’s demand, and said “We want an immediate lift of this meaningless ban.”
The demonstration was called by the following:
Dr. Gisela Penteker (IPPNW Turkey officer), Ulrich Hartig, writer Dario Azzellini, Heinz Rolle, writer Murat Cakir, Gefangenen-Gewerkschaft/Bundesweite Organisation, Interventionistische Linke, Kampagne TATORT Kurdistan, Feminist Women’s Party, Judith Dellheim, Ökonomin, Azadi Association, MAF-DAD, Cenî, Professor Peter Ott, Kerem Schamberger, journalist Markus Bernhardt, Die Linke Thüringen MP Kati Engel, Franziska Büchl, Rote Hilfe Association, Antifaschistische Aktion Lüneburg, Silvia Hauffe, Heinz Jürgen Schneider, Metin Guler, Axel Oswald, Franz Spindler, Die Linke MP Ulla Jelpke, Jürgen Repschläger, linksjugend’solid Berlin, Dr. Nesmil Ghassemlou, Die Linke MP Gokay Akbulut, Die Linke NRW Spokesperson Inge Höger, Dr.Nikolaus Brauns, Dr.Norman PAECH, Die Linke MP Sylvia Gabelmann, Christian Katz, Dr.Muriel González Athenas, Rote Hilfe Association Berlin Work Group, journalist Marcus Staiger, Cuxhaven Refugee Aid Association.
The following organizations announced their support later on:
Democratic Kurdish Society Center (NAV-DEM) Germany, Kurdistan Students Union (YXK), Braunschweig Kurdish Women’s Movement Allies, Kiel Kurdistan Solidarity Committee, Bonn Youth Movement, feminist campaign “Joint Struggle” and journalist Joachim Legatis, Kiel Rote Hilfe Work Group.
