German police clash with Kurdish protesters in Düsseldorf
Chase Winter
November 5, 2017
Clashes between police and Kurdish protesters occurred over banned PKK symbols. Germany has taken a harder line against PKK symbols in response to criticism from Turkey.
Image: picture alliance / Marcel Kusch/dpa
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German police clashed with Kurdish demonstrators protesting against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the western city of Düsseldorf on Saturday.
The violence erupted when police warned protesters to take down banners of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
When the warnings were ignored, police moved in to remove illegal banners and stop the march.
Twelve police officers were injured in clashes. Police responded with pepper spray and detained nine people. Two protesters were injured.
Around 6,000 people attended the march through the center of the city, with some chanting "Down with fascism," "Freedom for Ocalan" and "Long live leader Apo," the nickname used by PKK supporters for Ocalan.
Kurdish protesters march with Ocalan flags in Dusseldorf. Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kusch
The PKK, which has waged a more than three decade-long insurgency against the Turkish state, is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and the EU.
Germany had long been lenient towards Ocalan flags and PKK symbols, but earlier this year authorities moved to expand the list of banned symbols.
Protesters at Kurdish rallies carry a plethora of flags and symbols of dozens of Kurdish umbrella organizations, making implementation of the law confusing and uneven.
As restrictions on PKK symbols grow, Kurds have often resorted to using symbols of the Syrian Kurdish parties that following Ocalan's ideology and the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish militia that is backed by the United States to fight the "Islamic State" and not considered a terrorist organization.
Turkey considers the YPG and its political wing, the PYD, a terrorist organization with ties to the PKK.
The tougher line against PKK symbols came in response to repeated Turkish criticism that German authorities were too soft on allowing "terrorist propaganda." The issue has been a major sore spot in already sour Turkish-German relations.
It has also increased worries that the conflict in Turkey could lead to violence and social divisions between some three million Turks and Kurds living in Germany.
Why are German and Turkish relations so strained?
German-Turkish relations have deteriorated since the failed coup against Turkish President Erdogan in 2016 and the crackdown that followed. DW looks at some of the key moments that soured ties between Berlin and Ankara.
Image: picture-alliance/POP-EYE/B. Kriemann
The Böhmermann affair
March 31, 2016: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed charges against German comedian and satirist Jan Böhmermann over his "defamatory poem" about the Turkish leader. German prosecutors eventually dropped the charges on October 4, 2016, but the case sparked a diplomatic row between Berlin and Ankara.
German lawmakers pass resolution to recognize 1915 Armenian Genocide
June 2, 2016: The resolution passed almost unanimously. In response, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Berlin and Germany's Turkish community held protests in several German cities. Turkey had repeatedly criticized the use of the term genocide to describe the Ottoman-era Armenian killings, arguing that the number of deaths had been inflated, and that Turkish Muslims also perished in the violence.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Gallup
Tensions following failed coup in Turkey
July 15, 2016: A faction of the Turkish military tried to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but ultimately failed. Ankara accused Berlin of not taking a clear stand against the coup attempt or not doing anything about exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen's organization, who Erdogan blames for orchestrating the failed coup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Germany criticizes post-coup purge
Immediately following the attempted coup, Turkish authorities purged the army and judiciary, detaining thousands of people. The purge expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers. German politicians criticize the detentions. Turkish diplomats, academics and military members fled the country and applied for asylum in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Kurdish rallies in Cologne
Erdogan's post-coup crackdown has also been condemned by Kurdish protesters at several mass demonstrations in the west German city of Cologne. Often the rallies have called for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey considers to be a terror group. Ankara has accused Berlin of not doing enough to stop PKK activities.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Meissner
Arrest of German citizens in Turkey
February 14, 2017: Deniz Yücel, a correspondent for the "Welt" newspaper, was taken into custody in Turkey. Other German nationals, including journalist Mesale Tolu and human rights activist Peter Steudtner were detained in Turkey for what Berlin dubbed "political reasons." Turkey accused them of supporting terrorist organizations. All three have since been released pending trial.
March 2017: A number of German localities blocked Turkish ministers from holding rallies in their districts ahead of an April referendum in Turkey to enhance President Erdogan's powers. The Turkish leader then accused Germany of using "Nazi tactics" against Turkish citizens in Germany and visiting Turkish lawmakers. German leaders were not amused by the jibe, saying Erdogan had gone too far.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Spying allegations
March 30, 2017: Germany accused Turkey of spying on hundreds of suspected Gulen supporters as well as over 200 associations and schools linked to the Gulen movement in Germany. Turkish asylum-seekers have since accused officials working in Germany's immigration authority (BAMF) of passing on their information to media outlets with ties to the Turkish government.
Image: Imago/Chromeorange/M. Schroeder
Erdogan urges German-Turks not to vote for 'enemies of Turkey'
August 18, 2017: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed three of Germany's main political parties as "enemies of Turkey" and told Turks living in Germany not to vote for them in September's general election. He singled out Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), the Social Democrats (SPD), and the Greens. Merkel said Erdogan was "meddling" in Germany's election.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/AA/M. Ali Ozcan
Merkel says Turkey should not become EU member
September 4, 2017: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during an election debate that she didn't think Turkey should become a member of the European Union and said she would speak with other EU leaders about ending Ankara's accession talks. In October, she backed a move to cut Turkey's pre-accession EU funds.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Turkey's military offensive in Afrin
January 20, 2018: The Turkish military and their Syrian rebel allies launched "Operation Olive Branch" against the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin in northern Syria. The move was criticized by German politicians and prompted large protests by Kurdish communities in Germany.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose
Journalist Deniz Yücel released from prison
February 16, 2018: Turkey ordered the release of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel after he'd been held for over a year without charge. According to Turkish state media, Yücel was released on bail from pre-trial detention. Prosecutors asked for an 18-year jail sentence for Yücel on charges of "terror propaganda" and incitement.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress/Stauffenberg
Özil quits
July 2018: German footballer Mesut Özil quit the national team following the fallout from his meeting with the Turkish president. Özil said he was being made a scapegoat for Germany's forgettable performance at the FIFA World Cup in Moscow because of his Turkish heritage. Erdogan praised Özil's decision and slammed the "racist" mistreatment of the footballer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Presidential Press Service
Travel ban lifted
August 2018: A Turkish court removed the travel ban on German journalist Mesale Tolu, who was arrested last year on terrorism-related charges. But the trial against Tolu, who has since returned to Germany, is set to continue. Her husband, Suat Corlu, who is facing similar charges, has been ordered to remain in Turkey.
ANF news agency, which is tied to the PKK, quoted the co-chair of the Brussels-based European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E) as accusing Germany of taking orders from Turkey.
"The German government is carrying out Erdogan's orders, banning and blocking our symbols. We absolutely don't accept this and will resist," it quoted Yuksel Koc as saying at the march. "Despite police attacks and bans our people resisted and didn't let the posters of our leader Ocalan fall. We didn't bow down and we have reached our goal, everyone should recognize that."
Demir Celik, the co-chair of the Brussels-based Peoples' Democratic Congress-Europe (HDK-E), was quoted by ANF as saying: "Today in the mountains and in Syrian Kurdistan the flame of freedom has been ignited. All of our people's eyes are looking there. Here, we are in a struggle against oppression and fascism (by the Turkish state). I invited everyone to rebellion. Until Ocalan is free we will continue our struggle everywhere."
