Yesterday at around 05:30 in the morning, German police attacked the offices of Germany Democratic Kurdish Social Center’s (NAV-DEM) association and Civaka Azad who do public efforts for Kurds, in a manner reminiscent of the Turkish police.

The police raided NAV-DEM administrators’ homes simultaneously and broke down the doors of Kurdish institutions to enter. The excuse for the attack was a demonstration planned for Afrin on December 3, 2017 that was never actually held. The police confiscated computers in the offices.

“AN ATTACK AGAINST HDP VOTERS”

Federal Parliament MP Ulla Jelpke issued a statement on the police attack that took place before the June 24 elections and as voting continues in Germany. Left Party -Die Linke- domestic affairs spokesperson Jelpke stated that she stands with Kurdish institutions, and protesting the attack, said:

“The attack against Kurdish institutions is nothing but support for the Erdoğan regime’s election campaign in Turkey. NAV-DEM members have been campaigning on the streets for the HDP for days, and trying to make sure voting in Turkish consulates goes smoothly.

The police raid really aimed to prevent efforts of Erdoğan’s opposition. Erdoğan’s greatest fear is that leftist and opposition parties come together to fight. This fear is the reason why HDP’s Presidential Candidate Selahattin Demirtaş has been in prison since November 2015.”

Die Linke’s Jelpke also pointed out that the Berlin police raid against Kurdish institutions should be considered within the framework of the Erdoğan regime’s election campaign in Turkey, and made a call: “Direct and indirect support for the Erdoğan regime must end immediately.”

ARDIL: A GIFT TO THE AKP-MHP ALLIANCE

Representatives from Kurdish institutions in Berlin spoke to the ANF and said the attacks can’t intimidate them. NAV-DEM Berlin Co-chair Yeko Ardil stated that they are facing a practice entirely outside of the law, and said: “The police can contact us any time and have the doors of the association opened. But they chose a time when the association is closed and broke down windows and doors, despite knowing this.”

Ardil said they have footage of police looting the association during the attack and continued: “We consider this attack a gift to the fascist AKP-MHP alliance. We will defend all our legal rights within the bounds of German laws. These state terror practices can’t intimidate the Kurdish people. The Kurdish people will overcome these attacks too. This is also derogatory to the German people, so we are calling on the German public to show solidarity.”

HDK Berlin Spokesperson Rezan Aksoy said the German police raided the offices in a way reminiscent of the Turkish police: “This raid has one political purpose. During this election cycle, there has been a great campaign in Berlin. And Erdoğan’s throne is shaking in Turkey, so they wanted to give us a warning through the German government.”

Aksoy pointed out that the only posters the police found in the NAV-DEM association were for the HDP and Demirtaş, and made a call: “We must work stronger and better for the elections to respond to these attacks.” Aksoy continued to protest the German state:

“They are afraid of our posters, but we are everywhere. The police didn’t have to come and conduct a raid to get these. If they asked, we would have gladly gifted them some election posters. There are two sets of laws in practice in Germany, one set is their own, and the other the laws they borrow from the Turkish state to use against the Kurdish people.”