Germany Bans Kurdistan Information

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu
From: Arm The Spirit <ats at etext.org>
Subject: Germany Bans Kurdistan Information Bureau

KURD-A Documentation
March 2, 1995

The ERNK European Representation issued the following statement
concerning Germany's banning of Kurdish institutions:

     Today, several Kurdish institutions, including the Kurdistan
Information Bureau, in various German cities were raided, searched,
and banned by the police and state security forces. Materials in
the offices were seized. The reason for the banning, according to
police, were the attacks on Turkish travel agencies which occurred
over the past few days, and that this action is a retaliation. In
reality, this attack on Kurdish institutions is a continuation of
a joint campaign by the German and Turkish governments against the
national liberation struggle in Kurdistan. It is the result of the
logic of banning, denial, and destruction. We would like to stress
to the public that we were not in any way connected to the attacks
on the Turkish travel agencies. We would like to stress that such
accusations are being utilized as a means of justifying these bans
and raids. In the name of the Kurdish people, we strongly condemn
this action of the German government.

The following is a statement by the Kurdistan Information Bureau,
which has just been banned in Germany:

     Today, in the early morning, the Kurdistan Information Bureau
in Cologne and Berlin as well as other institutions in Bavaria and
North Rhein-Westphalia were search and banned by the German police
on the orders of interior minister Kanther. During the police
raids, publications, computers, files, and even the kitchen sink
were taken away.
     The Kurdistan Information Bureau has followed the goal of
publishing information regarding the situation in Kurdistan, but
also about the persecution and criminalization of Kurds in Germany.
     Representatives of the Kurdistan Information Bureau across
Germany have consistently argued for an end to the war in Kurdistan
during their consultations with local, state, and federal
officials. During the "International Kurdistan Conference" in
Berlin on February 24-26, 1995, the Kurdistan Information Bureau
once again attempted to express their desire that a peaceful
solution to the Kurdistan conflict be found.
     The means employed by Germany to fight against politically-
active Kurds increasingly resemble those used by the Turkish state.
It was exactly one year ago that Turkey expelled the Democracy
Party (DEP) MPs from the parliament in a putsch-like manner and
arrested them. The Turkish government's aim in doing this was to
prevent the MPs from carrying out their diplomatic and political
work. During several foreign visits, these Kurdish MPs called on
their European colleagues, especially the Germans, to force Turkey
to respect human rights in Kurdistan.
     Today's banning of the Kurdistan Information Bureau is no
coincidence. The interior minister's assertion that "the
institutions were connected with the attacks of the last few days"
and that they are the "successors of outlawed organizations" are
identical to the reasons given by the State Security Court (DGM)
for banning the DEP.
     The focus of the work carried out most recently by the
Kurdistan Information Bureau was to inform the public about the
creation of the Kurdish Exile Parliament and the upcoming Newroz
festivities in Kurdistan and Germany. The exile parliament, when it
is formed, will be responsible for representing the diplomatic and
political interests of the Kurdish people living in exile and for
seeking a political solution to the Kurdistan conflict. The
resonance to this project from some European states has been very
positive and many states have expressed their support for it.
     As in the past, Germany is not prepared to soften its hard-
line politics with respect to the Kurds. The Bonn interior
ministry's banning of Kurdish institutions in November 1993 has not
stopped the Kurdish people from striving for their legitimate right
to self-determination, neither dispersed abroad nor in Kurdistan.
     Developments, particularly the present ones, show that Germany
wishes to remain Turkey's partner in the war against the Kurdish
people. But the reality of 10 years of liberation struggle has made
one thing clear: Nothing can defeat it. With its policies of the
criminalization and persecution of Kurds living here, Germany is
supporting the terrorist Turkish state, stirring up hatred between
peoples, and worsening the war of destruction against our people.
     If Germany does not want this war, then why has it not
declared its willingness to accept the countless proposals from the
Kurds to act as a mediator between the two warring sides? Why can't
Germany accept the exile parliament as a possibility for dialogue?
     The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has for years been making
concrete proposals to end the internationally-sponsored special war
against the Kurdish people. The General Secretary of the PKK,
Abdullah Ocalan, in his letter of last November, called on Germany
to work for peace in Kurdistan and Turkey. Why has there never been
an answer to this letter?

Cologne - March 2, 1995

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