Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to Germany on Tuesday, will be the subject of protest at a rally organized by Kurdish associations supporting the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Alawite nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and members of the Armenian community.According to the information obtained, at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday morning the organizations will gather at Berlin’s historic Brandenburg Gate for the rally against Erdoğan, which will be under the leadership of the German Federation of Alevi Unions (AABF).
Approximately 40 NGOs, including the Federation of Kurdish Associations in Germany, Association of Alevi Youth in Germany, Council of Armenians in Germany and the Assyrian Federation, are expected to participate to the rally.
The organizations have cited Turkey’s Syria policy and the hunger strikes of members of the terrorist PKK and Kurdistan Communities’ Union (KCK) as the reasons for the rally.
Nearly 700 inmates who have been convicted or are under arrest on suspicion of membership of the PKK or its umbrella organization, the KCK, have been on a hunger strike for more than a month, demanding an end to the isolation of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
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The organizations are expected to call for no war with Syria. A statement released by the AABF accuses Erdoğan of being against Kurds and Alawites and of carrying out genocide and being a dictator in the Middle East.
Erdoğan is expected to discuss cooperation in efforts against the terrorist PKK and the crisis in Syria when he meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Erdoğan has repeatedly complained that European countries are not sufficiently supporting Turkey in its fight against the PKK. In recent remarks, Erdoğan has taken a step further and singled out France and Germany as countries that do not want Turkey to resolve its terror problem.
Turkey’s expectations for steps to ease visa requirements for Turks and German concerns about human rights violations in Turkey, particularly in regard to the freedom of expression, are also expected to be discussed during the talks.
During his visit to Germany, Erdoğan will also attend the opening of the new compound of the Turkish Embassy in Berlin, which will be Turkey’s largest diplomatic mission building abroad. The facility was built on the site of the former Turkish embassy building, which was damaged during World War II and closed down in 1945.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who is accompanying Erdoğan on his visit, and his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle, will also attend the opening ceremony.
