- Thousands of protestors in the German city of Dusseldorf demonstrated against Turkey’s alleged use of chemical weapons in the Kurdish region
- The protesters joined under the motto, “Stop Chemical Warfare in Kurdistan!” As speakers criticized international governments for not doing more to call out alleged war crimes by Turkey
- Dsseldorf police spokesman Marcel Fiebig said that “several thousand” people took part in the demonstration organized by Kon-Med
DUSSELDORF, Germany: Thousands of protestors in the German city of Dusseldorf demonstrated against Turkey’s alleged use of chemical weapons in the Kurdish region, as well as what they claim to be the international community’s apathy.
The protesters joined under the motto, “Stop Chemical Warfare in Kurdistan!” As speakers criticized international governments for not doing more to call out alleged war crimes by Turkey.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Dsseldorf police spokesman Marcel Fiebig said that “several thousand” people took part in the demonstration organized by Kon-Med, an association of Kurdish groups based in Germany.
Last month, Turkish officials strongly rejected allegations that the country’s military used chemical weapons against the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.
However, demonstrators were critical of Germany’s reluctance to investigate.
“The federal government recently declared that it sees no way for an international investigation into the Turkish use of chemical weapons. From our point of view, this is scandalous,” said Zubeyde Zumrut of Kon-Med, as quoted by Reuters.
Last month, Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, president of the Turkish Medical Association, was detained by Turkish police after she called for an independent investigation into allegations that chemical weapons were used by Turkey’s military against Kurdish militants.
According to the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office, human rights activist Fincanci was detained on charges of disseminating “terrorist propaganda.”
Since 2019, Turkey has been conducting a series of military operations in northern Iraq, claiming it is targeting the PKK to prevent it from launching cross-border attacks.
