Gagrule.net

Gagrule.net News, Views, Interviews worldwide

Barzani’s failed policies could lead to his family’s departure from Kurdistan!

By

KDP party leader Massoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: AFP

By Hamma Mirwaisi | Exclusive to Ekurd.net

Kurdish people are loyal to leaders. It is hard to convince Kurds to accept new ideas, but when they were accepting ideas, it is hard for them to give it up easily.

It took few generations for Barzani family to take over South Kurdistan. Turkish Ottoman Empire hangs Sheikh Abdul Salam Barzani in the year 1914 in the city of Mosul-Iraq after he revolted against Turkish Empire.

The stars of Barzani family rise among Kurds in that part of Kurdistan because of the Turks murder of Sheikh Abdul Salam Barzani. His brother Sheikh Ahmed led the Barzani tribal revolt for a while, which followed by his younger brother Mullah Mustafa Barzani the father of current Barzani tribal leader Massoud Barzani.

From 1946 to 1979 Mullah Mustafa led Kurdish revolution with the support of Israel, Iran and the US. Jalal Talabani from Talabani Sheikh family challenged Barzani leadership, which resulted in the division of South Kurdistan into two regions.

Barzani established political party called Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) without knowing the meaning of the word Democrat. After the split of KDP in the year 1963 Ibraham Ahmed, the father in law of Jalal Talabani establishing the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) without knowing the meaning of word Patriot. The process of forming political parties become similar to open the new business in Kurdistan especially in South Kurdistan as the sources of income to make a living through corruption.

There are communist, Islamist, Socialist, Democrat, Patriot, Conservative on and on without knowing anything about such ideologies.

In the middle of the cause in Kurdistan came a group of young Kurds under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan to form the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK (Kurdish: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê‎) started as Maoist or Marxist–Leninist political party. But in time the ideologies of PKK changed with the leader evolution. In time Abdullah Ocalan becomes knowledgeable enough to become one of the major world philosophers in his own, surpassing any other philosopher before him because he did solve women problem in the world.

Today KDP of Barzani is losing members and support of Kurdish people because Massoud Barzani and his brothers, nephew and children’s are submerged in corruption.

The PUK of Talabani is not better than KDP of Barzani, Jalal Talabani’s wife and his two sons are involved in the crime of corruption. His younger son Qubad Talabani suppose to be smarter than his older brother is working with Barzani family to share oil wealth of Kurdistan. Qubad married American Jewish girl, which give him a chance to be close to Israeli Government as the major protector of Barzani and Talabani families rule in South Kurdistan.

Iraqi Kurds are hopeless to be liberated from Barzani and Talabani yokes. Under the guidance of Israel Barzani allied with Turkey and Sunni Arabs of Iraq to stay in power for good. And again under the leadership of Israel Qubad Talabani and his mother allied with Iran and Shi’a of Iraq to stay in power for good. Many other players in South Kurdistan are allied with Turkey and Iran, but they are not making any progress because Turkey and Iran were only dealing with Barzani and Talabani families. One of the Talabani’s men by the name of Nawshirwan Mustafa come up with the idea of change to defeat Talabani and Barzani with the help of Iraqi Shi’a Government but failed. Nawshirwan Mustafa was trying to use PKK forces against Barzani and Talabani but failed too, because PKK leadership knows them very well.

It is evident for educated Kurds in South Kurdistan that only PKK forces can liberate Kurds from Barzani and Talabani families. But PKK does not have time now; they are in the middle of war in Turkey and Syria.

The US Government helped Barzani and Talabani to have significant military forces in that part of Iraq based on Israel recommendation. The new US administrations are very independent Government, oil lobbyist and Israel do not control over them anymore.

Iran is against the US interest in the Middle East, and the US knows very well that Barzani and Talabani’s forces are useless in the war. The US is seeking an alliance to be reliable in peace and wartime.

PKK are independent forces in the Middle East. They only depend on Kurdish people help, while they are seeking reliable partner too. The interest of PKK as the leader of the entire Kurdish population are sharing the common interest of the US interest in the Middle East, which could lead to the long-term alliance between PKK and the US against Iran expansion in that region.

Indeed, ‘The Return of the Medes” are in the process no one can stop that. Kurdish people are accepting Abdullah Ocalan philosophy finally; they are joining PKK ideologies by millions, while other political parties in Kurdistan are going down rapidly.

After 2539 years (Since Persian took over Median Empire) of abuses by Persian, Arabs, and Turks, the Kurds will be free to live in peace in Kurdistan, the land of the forefather of Kurds.

References

– The History of the Kurdish People: The Survival of the White & Aryan Kurds in Last 12,000 Years

-Barzani Kurds
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barzani_Kurds
-Mustafa Barzani
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Barzani
-Turkey: Ankara Bargains With Iraqi Kurdistan’s President
Stratfor Think Tank Analysis FEBRUARY 27, 2017 | 21:36 GMT
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15a8493f35f78e55?projector=1
-The History of the Caucasian People: The Civilizations without Hatred and Racism

Hamma Mirwaisi, a senior Kurdish writer and author of the book, “Return of the Medes” and the forthcoming book, “Enemies with the Same DNA“. Born in Iraqi, Kurdistan, he is a US citizen; he currently resides in the United States; is an electrical engineer by trade; he spent the early years of his life participating in the struggle for the freedom of Kurd from the tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussein. Mirwaisi was a regular contributing writer for Ekurd.net between 2010-2013.

Source: http://ekurd.net/barzani-failed-policies-kurdistan-2017-03-01

KDP prevents marching PKK supporters from entering Iraqi Kurdistan capital

By

HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Kurdish security forces from the Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP are prohibiting marching supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), from entering Iraqi Kurdistan capital city of Erbil.

A large number of security forces had gathered at Prde Checkpoint near Erbil and prevented the supporters from entering the city.

Nearly 300 PKK supporters began their peaceful march to Erbil from Sulaimani city on February 10 after a demonstration was held in the city against the continued imprisonment of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan by Turkey.

According to the correspondent, an estimated 500 armed security personal gathered at Erbil checkpoint to stop the 300 PKK supporters.

“The security forces told the PKK supporters that they wouldn’t allow them to enter Erbil,” Jaf said, citing what demonstrators had told him.

The PKK supporters gathered at Prde checkpoint said they will not leave until they are allowed to enter the region’s capital, NRT reported.

The aim of the march is to demonstrate in front of the Turkish Consulate-General in Erbil and call for the release of the jailed PKK leader.

The KDP party led by Massoud Barzani has close relation with the Turkish government.

Ocalan has been incarcerated in Turkey for the past 18 years.

The Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) detained Ocalan, also known as Apo, in 1999 in Nairobi, Kenya. The PKK leader was taken to Turkey where he was sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The sentence was commuted to aggravated life imprisonment when Turkey abolished the death penalty in support of its bid to be admitted to membership in the European Union.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 against the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to push for greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority who make up around 22.5 million of the country’s 79-million population.

A large Kurdish community in Turkey and worldwide openly sympathise with PKK rebels and Abdullah Ocalan, who founded the PKK group in 1974, and has a high symbolic value for most Kurds in Turkey and worldwide according to observers.

PKK says 3,404 Turkish troops, 585 Kurdish fighters killed in 2016

By

Kurdish militants attack Turkish army vehicle. Photo: PKK/ANF

QANDIL,— According to PKK’s balance sheet of war for 2016,  3,404 Turkish police and soldiers were killed, one F-16, 3 helicopters and 166 armored vehicles -including 8 tanks- were destroyed. 585 Kurdish guerrillas fell fighting during the year.

The press office of the HPG (People’s Defense Forces), the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK, has released the balance sheet of war for the year of 2016.

The statement said that Kurdish guerrillas as People’s Defense Forces fought a huge battle of resistance against the attacks launched by Turkey throughout 2016 based on policies of genocide and all-out annihilation.

HPG stressed that the battle that escalated during the first months of the year later enhanced and expanded from Amed to Botan, Dersim, Serhat, Amanos and Black Sea regions.

The statement emphasised that:

“During this huge battle of resistance, Turkish state forces suffered their heaviest losses in the war of 2016. The annihilation operations they launched with thousands of soldiers and technically equipped heavy weaponry had to be retreated due to the losses of Turkish forces. The enemy forces failed in the guerrilla war which has been carried out more professionally.”

HPG said hundreds of guerrillas gave a struggle on a self-sacrificial basis, and commemorated all the guerrillas and patriotic civilians that lost their lives during the resistance to protect the values created by the Kurdish people.

The statement gave the following detailed figures as to the balance sheet of war between guerrillas and Turkish forces throughout the year of 2016:

Operations And Attacks By The Turkish Army

Land operations carried out by the Turkish Army: 323

Aerial attacks (warplanes): 406

Cobra helicopter attacks: 88

Mortar, howitzer and tank attacks: 493

Actions By Kurdish Guerrillas

Actions carried out by guerrillas and clashes: 1150 (160 clashes)

Determined death personnel of Turkish forces (police-military): 3404 (38 high-ranking)

Determined wounded personnel of Turkish forces: 1334

Destroyed military (armored) vehicles: 166 (including 8 tanks)

Damaged military (armored) vehicles: 48

Destroyed aerial vehicles: 4 (including one F-16 jet)

Damaged helicopters: 25 (14 Sikorsky, 11 Cobra)

Actions with unverified results: 286

Martyred guerillas: 585 (13 fell in Shengal)

Imprisoned guerrillas: 14

Since July 2015, Turkey initiated a controversial military campaign against the PKK in the country’s southeastern Kurdish region after Ankara ended a two-year ceasefire agreement. Since the beginning of the campaign, Ankara has imposed several round-the-clock curfews, preventing civilians from fleeing regions where the military operations are being conducted.

Observers say the crackdown has taken a heavy toll on the Kurdish civilian population and accuse Turkey of using collective punishment against the minority. Activists have accused the security forces of causing huge destruction to urban centres and killing Kurdish civilians.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 against the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to push for greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority who make up around 22.5 million of the country’s 79-million population.

A large Kurdish community in Turkey and worldwide openly sympathise with PKK rebels and Abdullah Ocalan, who founded the PKK group in 1974, and has a high symbolic value for most Kurds in Turkey and worldwide according to observers.

Source: Ekurd.com

Paper Tiger Turkey’s Erdogan says has ‘evidence’ of US supporting Daesh in Syria:

By

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he has “confirmed evidence” that the US-led coalition is supporting Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria.

“What were the coalition forces saying in the beginning? They were saying: ‘We will fight against the terrorist organization Daesh until the end.’ In fact, they were accusing us of supporting Daesh. Now they’ve all disappeared. On the contrary, they give support to terrorist groups including Daesh, YPG (Kurdish People’s Protection Units), PYD (Democratic Union Party). It’s very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos,” said Erdogan during a Tuesday press conference.

The US and some of its regional allies, in particular Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, have on multiple occasions been accused of arming and funding militant groups fighting the Syrian government for nearly six years.

Anakra deems the PYD as a branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been engaged in an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and designated as a terrorist group by the US.

Turkey has vowed to press ahead with its hunt of Kurdish militants in both Iraq and Syria.

Erdogan’s announcement came just one day after Former US Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein accused Washington of backing terrorist groups when it serves its interests.

The Turkish president also stressed that the US had failed to keep its promise of air support in Ankara’s operations to liberate the Syrian city of al-Bab from Daesh.

“Even though the US-led coalition has failed to keep its promises [pledging air support] in our operation to liberate al-Bab, we will rid the city of Daesh terrorists, no matter what,” he said.

Turkey is in the middle of a military operation to capture al-Bab from Daesh. Ankara, which started its incursion into Syria in August, claims that it is only supporting the militants in northern Syria in the drive against Daesh. However, reports over the past days have suggested that Turkish troops have been directly involved in the battle in al-Bab.

The ongoing assault in al-Bab has inflicted significant casualties on civilians. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday that around 90 civilians, including 21 children, had lost their lives in a matter of 24 hours as Turkey intensified its airstrikes on the town.

Iraqi Kurdistan Dictatorship PM Barzani want to help Erdogan by crashing PKK

By

Military force may be an option to fight the presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Sinjar district near Mosul in northern Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has said, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported on Dec. 24.

It was PKK and PYD “During the calamity that befell the Yazidi people in Sinjar, obviously the Rojava forces — meaning the PYD [Democratic Unity Party] — played a valuable role in helping to protect them and shepherd them to safety, now KRG want to destroy PKK to please Turkish Dictator 

Barzani said under the present circumstances, the presence of PKK forces in Sinjar will only add to instability in the area and nothing more. The PKK presence is preventing people from returning to their homes. They are hesitating to return for fear of renewed conflict, out of concern as to what uncertain future awaits them and not because, as some allege, that we are the ones stopping them from reclaiming their lives, their homes. We share their concerns, and this is why we strongly believe that the PKK must leave Sinjar,” he told internet news site Al-Monitor in a special interview.

Barzani said they were in touch with Baghdad and Washington over the issue.

“We have been engaging with both Baghdad and Washington on this issue. The ongoing talks have not resulted in any concrete progress, no practical measures so far in terms of getting the PKK to withdraw. The real problem lies within the mentality and the behavior of the PKK. The local Yazidi population does not want the PKK to remain. People want stability,” he said.

Upon a question on whether Barzani would resort to military force to push the PKK out of Sinjar, he said he would.

The KRG has concerns over the possibility that Sinjar could serve as a second headquarters for the PKK in northern Iraq. The Peshmarga forces have been in efforts to get the upper hand in the area. The region is home to around 4,000 Yazidis.

Turkey previously vowed to take precautionary measures by deploying Turkish soldiers to prevent PKK militants from securing a base in Sinjar.

PKK accuses Barzani’s KDP of preventing Yazidis from returning to Sinjar

By

Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— The political wing of Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK, the Group of Communities in Kurdistan KCK, accused the Massoud Barzani-led Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of preventing Yazidis from returning to their homes in Sinjar (Shingal) in northwest Iraq.

The KCK Foreign Relations Committee in a statement on Tuesday responded to Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, who earlier said the PKK was preventing Yazidis from returning to Sinjar.

The committee denied Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) had prevented aid from coming into Sinjar and denied the statements made by the KRG premier.

“YBS fighters have never prevented aid into Sinjar. It is the KDP which prevented aid into Sinjar by the closure of the Semalka border gate where assistance was transferred to Sinjar,” the statement said.

“The duty of both the KDP and the PKK and of all other Kurdish political forces is to achieve Yazidis self-government and self-defense there,” the statement added.

During the Conference of the Future Independence of Kurdistan, Challenges and Opportunities, held at the American University of Kurdistan in Duhok, KRG premier Nechirvan Barzani said the PKK has complicated the situation in Sinjar by settling in.

“A reason that displaced people won’t return to Sinjar, and that the town remains un-constructed, is the PKK. These people are not certain of their lives, the PKK must understand that,” he said.

Islamic State group has captured most parts of the Yazidi Sinjar district in northwest Iraq on August 3, 2014 which led thousands of Kurdish families to flee to Mount Sinjar, where they were trapped in it and suffered from significant lack of water and food, killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidis as well as rape and captivity of thousands of women.

Those who stay behind are subjected to brutal, genocidal acts: thousands killed, hundreds buried alive, and countless acts of rape, kidnapping and enslavement are perpetuated against Yazidi women. To add insult to injury, IS fighters ransack and destroy ancient Yazidi holy sites.

According to Human Rights organizations, thousands of Yazidi Kurdish women and girls have been forced to marry or been sold into sexual slavery by the IS jihadists.

A Yazidi member of Iraqi parliament Vian Dakhil, said in August that 3,770 Kurdish Yazidi women and children still in Islamic State captivity.

Kurdish forces including PKK, backed by Coalition warplanes, declared victory over Islamic State (IS) in Sinjar on Nov. 13, 2015 after more than a year of fighting over the mainly-Yazidi district.

Source: Ekurd.net

Terrorist State of Turkey claim killed 20 Kurdish fighters in Hakkari

By

The Turkish military killed 20 fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after they tried to attack army bases in the southeastern Hakkari province, the military said on Saturday, December 3, acording to Reuters.

The fighters crossed into Turkey from northern Iraq and attempted to launch attacks on military bases in the mountainous border region, the military said, without giving further details.

Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast has been rocked by violence since a 2-1/2 year ceasefire between the government and the PKK broke down in July last year. The PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, first took up arms in 1984.

More than 40,000 people, most of them Kurds, have died in the fighting since.

Related links:

Reuters. Turkish military kills 20 Kurdish fighters in Hakkari, army says

PPK Leader Bayık: Kurds have reached the stage of freedom, need to sever all ties with the Turkish state.

By

KCK Executive Council Co-President Cemil Bayık

KCK Executive Council Co-President Cemil Bayık

KCK’s Cemil Bayık remarked that Kurds have reached the stage of freedom, and called on the Kurdish people to sever all their ties with the system of the Turkish state.

NEWS DESK – ANF

KCK Executive Council Co-President Cemil Bayık evaluated the recent developments for Rojeva Welat program on Stêrk TV.

Bayık firstly commemorated Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro who -he said- was an influential leader alongside Che Guevara in the eyes of the Kurdish people.

Bayık also remembered Amed Bar Association President and human rights defender Tahir Elçi who was murdered on November 28, 2015, since when the Turkish state continues its attacks on the Kurdish population. According to Bayık, Tahir Elçi was murdered deliberately with the goal of silencing bar associations, preventing the emergence of truths and starting a dirty war in the Kurdish region.

Commenting on the decision of two courts in Germany and Belgium that did not define the PKK as a “terrorist organization”, Bayık recalled that the Kurdish people never waged a struggle against Europe.

Calling attention to the PKK’s struggle in Shengal and Rojava, Bayık continued as follows: “PKK is a movement waging a freedom struggle. Peoples in Europe are also supporting the PKK’s struggle and the Kurdish people, which has also influenced the European community and courts. European states will understand this reality better in time.”

Bayık also mentioned the European Parliament’s decision to freeze negotiations with Turkey, saying: “The European Union has some values and standards that it needs to protect for these are trampled on by the Turkish state. The EU has long remained silent on the AKP-MHP politics but this has reached such a level that they couldn’t stay silent anymore. If this silence continued, peoples in Europe wouldn’t accept this.” He underlined that the European Union and NATO shouldn’t be deceived by Turkey’s blackmail over refugees.

Bayık continued, commenting on the deepening political and economic crisis in Turkey:

“AKP is pretending to be strong but it is not. The AKP government is advancing fascism in Turkey together with the MHP. The problems caused by this truth are huge and they will get even deeper.

Conflicts have started to erupt within the AKP and this politics will not lead Turkey to success. If they insist on this politics, Turkey will enter a more dangerous process and even end up like the Ottoman Empire.”

Referring to the Kurdish movement’s call for mobilization against attacks, Bayık said balances in the Middle East haven’t been established yet, and that Kurds have a right more than everyone else in these new balances to be formed.

Bayık remarked that Kurds will take their place in the balance within the new sharing battle, stressing that the AKP regime made interventions everywhere in the face of this situation.

“Kurdish organizations should all come together urgently and discuss what kind of a unity and congress they will realize. If they do this, dangers will decrease and their opportunity to triumph will be stronger than dangers themselves.”

Bayık also spoke about the Turkish state’s insistent attacks on Bab, saying the followings:

“Their target is not the ISIS but democratic forces, the basic force of which is the Kurds. They are trying to neutralize Kurds and hinder the advancement of democracy. Turkey shows up wherever ISIS faces a danger. Turkey is assisting the ISIS and if ISIS is annihilated, Turkey will not be able to wage a war against forces of democracy and defenders of freedom in the same way it is doing at the moment.”

Bayık continued, commenting on the AKP-MHP alliance over the new constitution, saying:

“MHP represents nationalism and AKP purportedly represents religion. These two parties came together and united nationalism and religion, which has also formed the basis of fascism. They want to make a new constitution on this basis and to make fascism permanent. Such a goal requires a war against democratic forces and they are mainly targeting the leading force of these democratic circles, which is the Kurds that are leading and representing democracy.”

Bayık pointed out that the people of Southern Kurdistan should also stand against Turkish colonialism and occupation attempts.

Bayık also congratulated Donald Trump who won the election and became the President of the U.S., adding that they hope Trump will pursue a policy in favour of his people and humanity as the U.S. policies influence the entire world, including the Kurdistan territory.

“There is a big war ongoing in the Middle East today amid ongoing changes and formation of new balances. The U.S., Russia and other forces are all involved in this battle. We are a part of the Middle East and Kurdistan is the backbone of the Middle East. Every policy on the Middle East has an influence on Kurds and the PKK. The politics of the PKK does also influence the entire Kurdistan and Middle East territory.

We hope the U.S. will take the Kurds into consideration in its Middle East politics. I believe the U.S. will see the injustice, atrocity and genocidal policy against Kurds and the struggle of Kurds against this aggression. They will get closer towards the Kurds and the PKK.”

KCK Executive Council Co-President Cemil Bayık ended his words with the following message:

“Our people should know that we have reached the stage of freedom, which is why the war is being waged this much violent. Our people should not live with the Turkish state anymore and they should sever all their ties with this system. If they do this, this system will collapse and the society of Turkey will attain peace even sooner.”

Kurd PKK fighters kill 2 Turkish soldiers More than 600 Turkish security forces have been elemented

By

2-more-soldiersAt least two Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)  in the east of the country, military sources say.

The army soldiers were attacked and injured while carrying out an operation in the province of Tunceli, the sources said on Monday.

They were transferred to hospital but succumbed to their wounds there, hospital officials said.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale anti-PKK campaign in its southeastern border region over the past few months. The Turkish military has also been pounding the group’s positions in northern Iraq as well in breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

A shaky ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared null and void by the militants in July 2015 following the Turkish strikes against the group.

Turkey has also toughened its crackdown on the Kurdish population in the country’s southeast after an abortive coup on July 15, claiming it is hunting down militants of PKK.

Ankara has arrested more than 37,000 people as part of the ensuing crackdown, accusing most of the suspects of having ties to Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the coup. Tens of thousands have also been dismissed or suspended from their positions in the military and public institutions.

The opposition has fiercely criticized the widening crackdown, with top figures in the Republican People’s Party (CHP) accusing the government of capitalizing on the failed coup to stifle dissent.

Western governments and major rights campaigners have also censured the crackdown, saying Ankara has acted beyond the law in its hunt for coup plotters.

Turkey has criticized the EU for not doing enough to condemn the abortive coup. The EU says Ankara has been acting beyond the rule of law in its post-coup clampdown.

German court cites Turkey’s support for terrorism in Kurdish militant case

By

court-germany-turkey-kurdA German court has taken into account Turkey’s persecution of Kurds and support for the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and al-Qaeda in a case against a PKK member. The court opinion is sure to rile Turkey.

A German court on Friday issued a suspended sentence to a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), citing in the decision to grant a mild punishment Turkey’s persecution of Kurds and support for terror groups in Syria and Iraq, “Die Welt” newspaper reported.

The court ruling is likely to further strain ties between Germany and Turkey at a time when Ankara has accused Berlin of not clamping down on the PKK and of being a center of terrorism in Europe.The court’s ruling also comes amid a broader crackdown in Turkey that has drawn sharp criticism in the EU.

The Hamburg court gave the 60-year-old man a one year and nine month suspended sentence for being a member of a foreign terrorist organization and heading PKK activities in the northern city of Bremen. His arrest warrant was also lifted.

The verdict led to some 70 PKK supporters in the room erupting in applause as it became clear the man would be set free.

Between August 2014 and March 2015, the man collected money for the PKK, organized propaganda and took part in membership meetings, the judge said. His name was not provided in line with German privacy laws.

Court cites Turkish support for ‘Islamic State’

The PKK, a recognized EU terrorist group, carries out murder and attacks in Turkey, the judge said.

But in issuing the mild verdict, the judge took into account the man’s admission to being a PKK member and his Yezidi origin, which the judge said meant that he was subject to persecution.

The judge recognized the role of the PKK in fighting against the so-called “Islamic State” in both Syria and Iraq as the Sunni extremist group tried to commit genocide against the Yezidi ethno-religious minority. In 2014, for example, PKK fighters came to the rescue of Yezidis in Sinjar in Iraq.

The PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the YPG, is backed by the United States in Syria in the fight against IS.

The court assumed that Turkey supported al-Qaeda and IS between 2011 to 2014 by providing health treatment to wounded fighters in Turkey and allowing jihadist fighters to cross into Syria. Kurds in Syria and Turkey have repeatedly accused Turkey of supporting terrorist groups in Syria in order to fight against Syrian Kurds, which Ankara considers a threat.

The renewal of fighting between the PKK and the Turkish state since the breakdown of peace talks last year has led to security forces destroying Kurdish towns and a deterioration in human rights, including extra-judicial killings. All this was taken into account in the court’s decision to issue the suspended sentence, the judge said.

Acquittal on other charge

The court acquitted the man on allegations of forced coercion. The charges stemmed from an argument between the accused man and the father of a 21-year-old girl who joined the PKK as a fighter against the wishes of her parents.

The father originally accused the man of threatening him with a gun if he went to the police about the matter. In court, the father denied the statement and therefore there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the charge against the PKK member.

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/german-court-cites-turkeys-support-for-terrorism-in-kurdish-militant-case/a-36532293