The German Green Party, which has had a complicated stance regarding armed assistance for South Kurdistan, decided at its Congress yesterday to oppose the provision of arms.

After a long debate at the Green Party congress in Hamburg the Co-President Cem Özdemir and some MPs' proposal to support the sending of weapons was rejected on the grounds "they might fall into the wrong hands".

However, the congress did respect the views of Greens in the Federal Parliament who approved the sending of armed assistance to the Kurds. Party Co-President Cem Özdemir previously said:  "We must ensure the Kurds have the capability to defend themselves."

While Özdemir opposed Germany sending military units to Syria or Iraq, he said that in the event of a UN resolution Germany should say 'yes'.  Özdemir said that the sending of troops should be a last resort after all diplomatic efforts had failed.

Approval for a UN mission to protect the civilian population

At the Greens' congress, it was decided to evaluate the idea of military assistance if the UN passed a resolution. A large majority of delegates were in favour of Germany only supporting the protection of the civilian population in such an eventuality.  

On Saturday the Greens debates Germany's policies regarding refugees, agriculture and climate.