National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK)
Press Release 24
May 16, 1995

There has been a recent spade of German police attacks on Kurdish
gatherings and their institutions. These are acts that are placing
the German authorities on the side of the Turkish authorities in
their desire to solve the Kurdish question by way of force. The
National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK) made the following
statement relative to these events in Germany:

We Insist On A Political Solution

     The German state is increasing its attacks on Kurds who are
engaged in political activity for their democratic aspirations. On
the most flimsy charges, Kurdish institutions and gatherings, even
private homes, are subjected to unwarranted searches. There has
been a rise in this type of activity since the early days of May,
which coincides with the withdrawal of Turkish troops from South
Kurdistan.
     Kurds who celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the
Second World War were attacked by German police in Berlin. Their
associations in Berlin and Hanau were searched on that same day. On
Sunday, May 14, another gathering of Kurds was interrupted in Mainz
and close to 100 participants were apprehended. In Giessen, some
4,000 Kurdish women gathered for Mother's Day and they too were
asked to disperse. But those who had gathered refused to disperse.
     Acts such as these can only be classified as deeds in support
of the Turkish government. In Kurdistan, time-honoured Turkish
policies of force have made the situation worse, forcing the
authorities to come to terms with the political solution of this
problem. But German attacks on the Kurds are provoking the Kurdish
victims to commit criminal acts. Some fanatical right-wing forces
have made a profession of bashing the Kurds and the PKK, even at
the Interior Ministry level. The sympathy that prevails among the
public at large is being undermined by fabricated events and
stories. While these acts of hatred are cultivated against the
Kurds, fascist Turkish groups are tolerated and even supported by
these same elements. And some unscrupulous politicians are using
these fabricated incidents and in so doing are trying to get some
mileage out of the Kurds.
     We would like to think that the consciences of these
politicians will not allow them to stoop to the level of
provocations. The logic that justifies attacking the Kurds by way
of force is no different than the one that the Turkish generals
have been using against the Kurdish people in Turkey.
     We insist on a political solution. We believe both the old
Turkish policies and the new German operations have only one thing
in common, and that is that they are bankrupt relative to the
Kurdish question. We condemn these policy attacks on our
institutions and we urge our people to remain united. We ask them
never to waver in their solidarity with their people and their
country.

ERNK European Representation