Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jolani), the interim president of Syria based in Damascus, is expected to arrive in Berlin on 19 January at the invitation of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The co-chairs of the Confederation of Kurdistan Communities in Germany (KON-MED), Ruken Akça and Kerem Gök, have called for the visit to be cancelled, saying it would legitimize the massacres carried out in the Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêx Meqsûd) and Ashrafiah (Eşrefiye) neighborhoods of Aleppo and pave the way for further attacks.
Kerem Gök, one of the co-chairs of KON-MED, spoke to ANF about al-Jolani’s itinerary, pointing to his planned stops in Bonn and Berlin. According to Gök, al-Jolani is expected to attend the opening of a consulate in Bonn and hold a meeting with Chancellor Merz in Berlin. He added that media reports also indicate an invitation to Davos.
Kerem Gök said that the attacks in Aleppo have been documented and exposed to the public, stressing that thousands of women, elderly people, children, and civilians remain captive under the rule of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Gök said: “There is also information that young people have been separated from these civilians and taken to an unknown location. Civilians who were captured alive are facing torture and ill-treatment. At present, independent media outlets are unable to enter and conduct reporting in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiah neighborhoods of Aleppo. Families are deeply concerned about the lives of their relatives in Aleppo.”
Gök described the situation as a grave humanitarian tragedy and said it was deeply troubling that al-Jolani is being received at the protocol level in Germany. Gök said: “At a time when such a humanitarian disaster is unfolding, hosting al-Jolani in Germany, someone who bears primary responsibility for these massacres and human rights violations, is disturbing,” underlining that such a reception amounts to legitimizing the massacres.
Gök also said: “Kurdish people are being killed, and welcoming al-Jolani in Bonn and Berlin during this period will embolden him. It will provide motivation for new massacres. Hosting someone who is hostile to Druze, Alawites, Kurds, women, and all forms of social diversity not only legitimizes him but also encourages further crimes.”
Kerem Gök also said that hosting al-Jolani with official protocol in Berlin would lead Kurds living in Germany to question their sense of belonging, stressing that sanctions must be imposed on al-Jolani. Gök said: “In a country where nearly two million Kurds live, receiving al-Jolani, who is responsible for the killing of Kurds, will not only deepen Kurdish pain and grief, but will also open the way for Kurds to question their sense of belonging to Germany. He called on German officials not to support or become complicit in the massacres carried out by al-Jolani and said: “Such meetings mean becoming an accomplice to his crimes. Instead, al-Jolani must be condemned, and sanctions must be imposed on him.”
Ruken Akça, another co-chair of the KON-MED, said that hosting al-Jolani by Chancellor Friedrich Merz would constitute “not only a moral scandal, but also a violation of German law.” Akça also said: “According to the information we have obtained, al-Jolani, who is the leader of HTS, an organization with roots in Al-Qaeda, and who has been the subject of legal proceedings in Germany under Section 129b for links to a terrorist organization, is expected to travel to Germany and meet with Chancellor Merz. This situation is not only a moral scandal, but also a clear violation of Germany’s own legal framework and constitutional principles.”
Ruken Akça stated that al-Jolani cannot be accepted as a political interlocutor, stressing that he is responsible for serious crimes committed against civilians. Akça said: “Al-Jolani is the leader of armed structures responsible for attacks against civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiah neighborhoods of Aleppo, for grave crimes committed against women, children, and the elderly, and for documented war crimes. With these facts clearly established, it is unacceptable for this individual to be treated as a political counterpart in Germany.”
Akça described the German government’s stance as a “double standard based on political interests,” and said: “We ask openly: while Kurdish young people in Germany are prosecuted under Section 129b, how can the same laws be suspended for a jihadist leader? This double standard shows that political interests are being prioritized over the rule of law.”
Akça stated that al-Jolani’s planned visit to Berlin must be cancelled, adding that the Kurdish people would not accept what she described as an attempt at legitimization. She also said: “Every form of engagement with al-Jolani amounts to covering up the crimes that have been committed. For this reason, our people will express their protest forcefully by exercising their democratic and legitimate rights across Germany on the day this visit is scheduled to take place.”
Akça also called on the German federal government to “immediately abandon this wrongful course and remain faithful to its own legal framework and the democratic values it claims to uphold.”