Protest on November 20, 2022, at Hermannplatz in Berlin Neukoelln because of the latest attacks of the Turkish military last night.
German Kurdish associations have condemned Turkey’s air offensive in northeastern Syria and northern Iraq and called their diaspora community to hold urgent protests in multiple German cities. The Turkish military attacked the town of Kobanî (Ayn al-Arab) in northern Syria. On social networks, residents of the Iranian city of Mahabad reported explosions and the sound of gunfire. There were also widespread power outages. After days of protests, activists fear a bloody crackdown on the demonstrations.
A week after the Istanbul attack, Turkey confirmed the start of a military operation against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria and Iraq. Syria’s Kurds speak of an invasion. Bases of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK and the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG have been targeted, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. Both regions were “used as bases by terrorists.” In its actions, as in previous invasions and wars of aggression, Turkey invokes the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
PKK and YPG deny involvement in the attack. Instead, they accuse Turkey of creating a justification for a new military operation in northern Syria. The protesters in Berlin also blamed the EU., the U.S., and NATO for the Turkish attacks. According to the protesters, no Turkish warplane could fly in these regions without direct consent, especially from the U.S., which has air sovereignty over Iraq and northern Syria. Turkey is now trying to finish what the I.S. failed to do, and the world is watching. Germany is also complicit in this situation, the protesters said.