Theune: PKK can apply to the German Ministry of Interior

Speaking at a panel where the ban on the PKK in Germany, which is now in its 27th year, was discussed, German attorney Lukas Theune said that the PKK could apply to the Ministry of Interior for the annulment of the ban and initiate a legal struggle.

Kurdish institutions organized a series of events on the 27th anniversary of the PKK ban imposed by the German government under Helmut Kohl on 26 November 1993. However, while most of the events were canceled due to the measures and prohibitions taken due to the epidemic in Germany, Civaka Azad organized online panels.

The second panel discussing the history of the 27-year ban and the criminalization policy against the Kurds was titled as "What should we do against the PKK ban?". Attorney Lukas Theune, Lars Harms, group head of the South Schleswig Electoral Union (SSW), representing minorities living in the north of Germany in the Schleswig-Holstein State Assembly, and Monika Morres from the Azadi Legal Bureau attended the panel as speakers.

THE BAN IS RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENTS IN TURKEY

Morres, one of the leading names in Germany who has been fighting for the rights of Kurds for years, said that “The severity of the ban has either decreased or increased in parallel with the approach of the Turkish state towards Kurds.”

Morres added that in the years when the Rojava revolution resonated in the world and the struggle against ISIS gangs in the Middle East under the leadership of the PKK was praised, there were fewer cases and arrests of Kurds in Germany. However, with the introduction of the war concept against the Kurds by the Turkish state in 2015, there has been a noticeable increase in investigations and lawsuits in Germany.

'TURKISH LOBBY AT WORK'

SSW’s group head, Lars Harms who has been fighting for the rights of the Friezes and Danes that are considered as minority folks reminded that their application to the Schleswig-Holstein State Assembly to lift the PKK ban was not accepted after all parties united and voted against it.

Stating that they were successful in the first place, Harms continued as follows: “We were successful because we managed to bring this issue to the agenda, at least a public opinion has been formed. Why should the PKK be banned in a country where Turkish ultra-nationalists are free? There is no legal basis for this ban.”

"CHILDISH THING TO BELIEVE"

Lars Harms revealed that; "Unfortunately, the Turkish lobby is strong in Germany and this lobby is working to keep the ban going. When I ask government agencies what these people have done, they give me the following answer: ‘They marched and raised a flag’. It's just childish to call those who do such things terrorists, and you can't even make a child believe this.”

'THE BATTLE OF THE KURDS IS NOT CONSIDERED A LEGITIMATE DEFENSE'

Lukas Theune, one of the leading lawyers in Kurdish political trials, said; “In the indictments and decisions of the PKK cases, the German federal attorney general and federal court do not consider HPG's armed struggle as 'legitimate defense'. Unfortunately, HPG's armed struggle is deemed to be ‘murder and assault’ based on the laws in Germany.”

Theune argued that the PKK could apply to the Federal Ministry of the Interior to demand the ban be lifted. He continued with the following suggestions:

“Most likely, the ministry will reject the application, then we go to the Administrative Court first, and then to the Federal Court. When internal legal regulations in Germany do not help, we go to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). An interesting decision may be made there, because the political bodies do not put pressure on the law as much as in Germany, the law is independent in a sense. Moreover, the European Court of Justice found it illegal to include the PKK in the list of terrorist organizations between 2014-2017. It is possible to push the German state in such a way.”