30th anniversary of the ban on the PKK (November 27)

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the ban on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which came into effect on November 27, 1993, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls for a new approach to the ban: “Over the past years, we have repeatedly advocated for a lifting of the ban. Currently, however, there is no point in repeating this demand – as the current German government is firmly on the side of the Turkish state and has repeatedly shown understanding for the attacks against the Turkish Kurds, for the wars in northern Syria, and the wrongful attacks on northern Iraq. The German public must not allow the ban on the PKK to be instrumentalized as a means to criminalize solidarity with the Kurdish people in their struggle against the tyrant Erdogan and his Islamist allies,” stated Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant, in Göttingen today.

Apparently, the ban on the PKK and the “war against terror” served as justification for the German Federal Government to provide unconditional political, diplomatic, financial, and military support for Turkey. “If the German Federal Government were interested in the political goals of the PKK, it would have put the Turkish human rights violations and war crimes against the Kurdish people and other minority groups – or the two wrongful invasions of northern Syria – on the agenda of some international committee at least once,” Sido emphasized. Because of the ban on the PKK, individuals in Germany can face legal action for displaying the flag of the Syrian-Kurdish militia YPG in the course of a demonstration. The YPG is the leading military organization within the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are fighting against the so-called “Islamic State” and other radical Islamist militias. They are an important factor of stability in the region, and they are even relevant for Israel’s safety. The ban on the PKK also serves as a justification for obstructing humanitarian aid to the people in northern Syria, who are under attack by the IS and by Turkey.

Despite all the criticism of the policy of the PKK: The attacks against the PKK are weakening the Kurdish people and minority groups altogether – and they are strengthening IS and other Islamists that are tolerated or even supported by Erdogan. Against this background, the STP had repeatedly appealed to both sides – Turkey and the PKK – to lay down their arms, to put an end to the violence and seek a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question through international mediation.

“Further, the STP would like to urge those who sympathize with the PKK and advocate for a lifting of the ban to strictly adhere to the laws. Anyone who provokes or even attacks the police at solidarity rallies must be immediately removed from the ranks of the demonstrators and brought to justice. With all due recognition for individual dedication to the Kurdish cause: aggressive behavior will neither help to bring about a lifting of the PKK-ban nor serve the Kurdish cause in any other way,” Sido emphasized.