Uca to German, Turkish governments: Are all these a coincidence?

Former European Parliament member and HDP MP Feleknas Uca pointed out the developments between governments of Turkey and Germany during moments of negotiation over Kurds and asked: “Are all these a coincidence?”

Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi - HDP) Diyarbakır MP Feleknas Uca spoke about the relationship between Germany and Turkey and the German weapons used in the Afrin operation. Uca has been engaged in politics in Europe for years, and is a former member of the European Parliament (EP). Pointing out that negotiations over Kurds come up at times of tension between Turkey and Germany, Uca said: “Germany is silent in the face of massacres of civilians and babies. Weapons sales and trade are what they value.

“THEY HOLD NEGOTIATIONS OVER KURDS”

Uca pointed to the tension between the governments of Turkey and Germany and continued: “There have been issues like the German citizens Turkey holds hostage, the MİT activity, the Incirlik crisis and Germany banning AKP rallies. They both bared their teeth so much, but Germany’s Foreign Minister today is at the point of pouring tea for the Turkish Foreign Minister. Look, the day that the German Foreign Minister poured tea for the Turkish Foreign Minister, Kurds exercising their democratic right to protest the invasion of Afrin in Germany were attacked. The protesters’ flags were confiscated and they were not permitted. On the day the activists detained in Büyükada, Istanbul were released, Germany refused permission for Kurdish protesters. And today Deniz Yücel was released. Similarly, Kurds’ protests are not given permission now. How is this happening? Are these all a coincidence? That means Germany and Turkey hold negotiations over Kurds.”

“GERMANY CARES ABOUT SELLING WEAPONS”

Uca said both states and parties enter into various negotiations over Kurds and stated that Germany has made deals with Turkey to grow their economy and sell weapons. Uca said: “Everybody develops politics over the Kurds. They make Kurds into tokens of negotiation. Germany is the country that has sold the most weapons to Turkey since 2014. Germany doesn’t care about the death or the future of Kurds, they only care about strengthening their economy over the weapons they sell to Turkey. That is why there is a very dirty negotiation in place between Turkey and Germany.

“CIVILIANS MASSACRED WITH GERMAN TANKS”

Uca said the deals between Turkey and Germany include German-made tanks as well: “German tanks are being used against Kurds again. In the 1990’s, German tanks were used to burn and destroy Kurdish villages and to kill civilians. Today, civilians are killed with German tanks again in Afrin.

“GERMAN PUBLIC IS NOT COMFORTABLE”

Uca said there is serious discomfort among the German public regarding the sale of weapons to Turkey and criticized Germany for not being a democratic country. Uca said: “If Germany speaks of democracy, then they shouldn’t have been involved in weapons trade and using another nation as a subject of negotiations. Germany has trampled its own democracy to be able to sell weapons.”

“GERMANY PLAYS OSTRICH IN AFRIN”

“The German government is toying with the future of Kurds for their interests,” said Uca and stressed that Germany is silent in the face of the massacres against Kurds in the Middle East. Uca said, “The German government plays ostrich, especially regarding the invasion of Afrin,” and continued: “There are a lot of Kurdish voters in Germany. After this stance the country has chosen to take, the Kurds will decide which party to vote for. The Kurdish people in Germany are an organized people, in every sense. No Kurd will remain silent in the face of these events and will calculate who to vote for when the day comes. Kurds will clarify their own politics. The German government must be aware of this.”

“HISTORY IS SHAPED BY THE STRUGGLE OF KURDS”

Uca concluded with: “In the Middle East where borders are being redrawn, they want to shape the Kurds. They want to put Kurds through massacres and weaken them. These attacks are a continuation of the attacks in place for a century against Kurds. But the Kurds are not the same as before. They won’t let this be. Today, the struggle of the Kurdish people is looked up to throughout the world. Today, many politicians in Europe say the Kurdish resistance gives them hope. I believe that the Kurdish people will respond to these attacks as well. History is being shaped by the struggle of the Kurdish people. The Kurds are building their own future with their hands.”