KCDK-E calls for the participation in the Berlin rally against the PKK ban

The Co-Presidency Council of the Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress in Europe (KCDK-E) released a statement calling on people to protest against the PKK ban on November 27 in Berlin and other locations.

KCDK-E’s written statement noted that “The lifting of the PKK ban in Germany will pave the way for a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem and the development of democracy in Turkey.”

“BAN PAVES THE WAY FOR MASSACRES AND CHAOS’

“As a result of Germany’s political and economic links with Turkey, the German government prohibited PKK’s activities in Germany by a political decision in 1993, at the request of the Turkish government. The prohibition does not only criminalize Kurds but also stands in the way of a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem. At the same time, the ban allows the Turkish state to carry out continued massacres in Kurdistan.

The dynamics in Kurdistan, in the region, and the world all together have altered. Using old methods to solve problems just intensifies the conflict and damages democracy and international law.

Maintaining a ban on the PKK, which defends a democratic co-existence, women’s freedom, the common life of different identities and beliefs in the Middle East, and which fights and defeats DAESH (ISIS) in the name of humanity, does not only impede democracy’s development, but also paves the way for the DAESH-minded dictator Erdogan, and deepens the chaos and crisis in the region.

CALL ON THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT

The new government in Germany should consider the negotiations between Öcalan, the PKK and the Turkish government between 2013 and 2015, as well as the PKK’s role in the fight against DAESH in the Middle East. Making a change by lifting the PKK ban to solve the Kurdish question through democratic means will not only help to solve the difficulties but will also pave the way for Turkey’s democratization. The political resolution of the Kurdish issue is also critical to Turkey’s and the Middle East’s democratization.

THE DECISIONS OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE AND BELGIUM

According to the European Court of Justice’s ruling in Luxembourg in 2018 and the Belgian Supreme Court’s decision in 2020, the PKK cannot be labelled a terrorist organization and it was determined to treat the PKK as a warring party under the rules of war.

Despite these legal decisions, maintaining the ban on the PKK, which struggles for freedom, equality, and women’s liberation in the consciences of all societies around the world, violates both the law and the conscience of humanity, preventing a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem. Given that the invading Turkish state is laying the ground for a Kurdish genocide in Rojava, Shengal, Bashur, and throughout Kurdistan, the PKK ban should be revoked immediately.

This demand is being expressed not only by Kurdish institutions and Kurdish people, but also by many social segments in several countries, in parliaments, conferences, congresses, and street protests.

‘EVERYONE WHO WANTS FREEDOM AND EQUALITY SHOULD PARTICIPATE’

Today is the day: The bans on the PKK and other Kurdish organizations in Germany should be lifted and the PKK should be removed from the list of European terrorist organizations.

As KCDK-E, we encourage everyone who desires freedom and equality, especially the people of Kurdistan, to participate in the November 27 rally in Berlin against the PKK ban in Germany and policies that criminalize Kurds, as well as in the activities to be organised in other countries for the same cause.”