“A clear position against Erdogan’s Kurdish policy!”

The open words of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the occasion of the release of the oppositionist Osman Kavala in Turkey were right. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) praised Mrs. Baerbock for finally speaking out against the suppression of the freedom of expression by Erdogan’s regime. However, the human rights organizations criticized that the German government still remains strikingly quiet about the oppression of the Kurds.

There are several inconvenient questions – but they have to be asked, the human rights advocates emphasized. Why has the German Federal Government been ignoring the attacks of the Turkish army against minority groups and autonomous administrations in the border regions with Syria and Iraq? Why is the catastrophic human rights situation of the Kurdish people in Iraq not a topic of discussion? “The entire region is destabilized by the Turkish attacks and the terror of the militia groups, which are backed by Ankara. Many people are forced to flee – and Erdogan is trying to force those who decide to stay to submit to a radical interpretation of Sunni Islam. It is his policy to Islamize and Osmanize these regions by building mosques and Quran schools, as a means of repressing the traditional culture, order, and religious customs. Apart from the Kurds, this also affects the Yazidis and the Assyrian Christians,” stated Martin Lessenthin, Spokesman of the Board of the ISHR.

Further, Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East Consultant of the STP, criticized the plans of the Turkish government under President Erdogan to ensure that it will be possible to prosecute Kurds living in Germany and even have them extradited to Turkey: “It should not be possible criminalize someone for publicly sporting the Kurdish colors as a means of protest, for demanding political prisoners to be released, or for showing symbols of Kurdish organizations! Those who remain silent about Erdogan’s human rights violations and who permanently express understanding for Turkey’s security interests are at the same time accepting the war crimes and genocide crimes of tomorrow. If Germany and NATO want to remain credible, they must not justify, trivialize, or support Erdogan’s war of aggression against the Kurds and other minority groups.”

In the opinion of the human rights advocate, the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey’s area of influence is a threat to Europe and NATO. Thus, Turkish influence on the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the territory of Germany and other NATO states must not be tolerated. All Turkish human rights violations should be made public and must be stopped.