“We demand accountability from Israel”

On 15 February 1999, Abdullah Öcalan was abducted from the Greek embassy in Nairobi to Turkey. The intelligence operation involved the USA, Israel and Turkey. In the following days, there were protests at the embassies of all the countries involved, including Israel’s embassy. When thousands gathered to protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Berlin on 17 February, Israeli security forces opened fire, killing Sema Alp, Mustafa Kurt, Ahmet Acar and Sinan Karakuş. Many more were injured.

Long-time Kurdish activist Ismail Parmaksız was present at the attack. He talked to ANF about his experiences at the time.

“We were only there to protest”

Parmaksız, referring to the period between Öcalan’s departure from Syria on 9 October 1998 and 15 February 1999, says: “Chairman Apo, after he left Syria, did not receive a positive response anywhere in Europe. When he was taken to Turkey, we as Kurdish people in Europe asked ourselves what Europe had done to us. The Kurds and their friends rose up against the plot. They protested at the representations of the states involved in the plot. Who was responsible for this? The USA, Israel and Turkey. Protesting against it was necessary. All the Kurds flocked first to the Greek consulate and then to that of Israel. We just wanted to protest. In other words, we wanted to express the unfair attitude and hostility towards the Kurds there. Thousands of people had gathered in front of the Israeli consulate, none of our friends went inside. Then the police surrounded us and detained us. Our friends were shot in the back in front of the door of the embassy. Security forces who were leaving the consulate shot indiscriminately. They killed four of us there and dozens more were wounded. We couldn’t even get near the bodies of our friends who were lying there in the snow. That’s how it was then. People were machine-gunned, four of us were killed. Many more friends were injured.”

“Not even an investigation was initiated”

Parmaksız continued: “Our martyrs were then taken away by the police. The next day, one of the four men who had shot at the Israeli consulate was sent to Finland and the other three immediately to Israel, as I remember. The perpetrators were known. There was no legitimacy for their actions. Nobody attacked the Israeli consulate. It was a normal democratic act. It was a protest. We were in the garden of the consulate. It pained us greatly that the perpetrators were hastily sent to Israel and that no proper investigation was carried out. Still, we did not desist from it. Lawyers were hired. However, Israel and Germany refused. After this statement, the proceedings were closed. We are pursuing this injustice to this day. Sinan Karakuş’s family was not in Berlin. The families of the other three martyrs are in Berlin. We will continue to pursue the proceedings.”

“The Kurdish people should be proud of their martyrs”

Parmaksız said the following about the martyrs: “The four martyrs were people who were sensitive to the Kurdish question and actively participated in the struggle. They were present at every action. They were people we were always with.

There was the friend Sema Alp. She was a young woman. There was Ahmet Acar, Mustafa Kurt and Sinan Karakuş. They were all very active. They were committed to the Kurdish cause. They were always in the front when it came to protesting against the injustice against Kurds. They showed their democratic protest. They did it in front of the whole world. It was a spontaneous and justified protest. They were precious friends. We will never forget them, we can never forget them. The Kurdish people should be proud of them.”