MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Germany ‘bans’ PKK – Kurds from holding a rally against Turkey’s Erdogan

BERLIN, 18 Sept 2018 – MESOP –  Germany’s large Kurdish community said Monday it had been “banned” by Berlin authorities from holding a rally at the Brandenburg Gate during a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this month.

Instead of gathering on September 29 at the landmark symbol of German unity, the Kurds will now hold the rally a day earlier at the nearby Potsdamer Platz square, on the day the Turkish leader arrives.Some 10,000 people are expected to attend.A Berlin police spokesman, Michael Gassen, stressed that the protest had not been outlawed but that the Brandenburg Gate was reserved for the celebration of German Unity Day on October 3.

However, the Kurdish Community of Germany criticised the decision in an angry statement, claiming the “extensive security measures… significantly impede the freedom to demonstrate”. Community leader Ali Ertan Toprak said the restriction marked a “dubious message on the part of the authorities to limit the rights of democrats for the benefit of a despot”. Gassen, however, told AFP that “stages for the October 3 festival will already be under construction” during Erdogan’s visit and thus a demonstration there would not be possible.

“We asked the organisers to suggest another location but they cancelled” the protest, he added. Germany has a million-strong Kurdish community, many of whom are of Turkish origin. www.mesop.de