Foreign Ministry: 'PKK supporters vandalize Turkish embassy gate in Germany'

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement saying “supporters” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have attempted to vandalize the gates of the Turkish embassy in Hannover, Germany.

Duvar English

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 27 issued a statement titled “The PKK Terror Organization Supporters’ Vandalism Attack on Our Hannover Embassy” on its official website.

The statement suggested that “supporters” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in late hours of March 26 vandalized the gates of the Turkish embassy in Hannover, Germany. 

The ministry added that the attack caused no injuries or deaths.

The ministry said that German officials were notified and were responsible for the safety of Turkish citizens and diplomatic missions in the country. 

“They should not allow incidents fomenting the Turkish population in Germany,” continued the statement, and requested the individuals to be identified and brought to justice. 

“The cornered terrorist organization PKK’s attacks to disturb the Turkish society in Europe have been on the rise,” suggested the ministry. 

The Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that 12 alleged supporters of the PKK have “organized an attack” on the Turkish embassy in Hannover after a march organized in support of the PKK.  

The individuals tried to break the glass of the embassy’s gate and fled the scene after cracking one of the panels. 

The statement followed an incident in Belgium where six were injured after the Newroz celebrations in Limburg. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally called a 16-year-old Turk after he was injured during the strife with the Kurdish crowd.

Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also called upon the Turkish and Kurdish citizens of the country to “stop the provocation and violence,” following a National Security Council meeting.  

“All people are free to differences of opinion and beliefs, but statements in support of any terrorist organizations will not be tolerated,” held the Prime Minister. 

De Croo urged all parties to calm down, stop provocations, and “continue living together in peace as you did for decades,” according to the Belgian state channel VRT.

He also asked Kurdish Belgian citizens to stop all demonstrations in support of “organizations classified as terrorist groups.” 

“Feeling sympathy towards the Kurdish case is something else, but the EU defines the PKK as a terrorist organization,” the prime minister said. 

Germany and Belgium, along with the rest of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America list the PKK as a terrorist organization.

The two countries are home to large Turkish and Kurdish diasporas, due to the labor agreements they signed with Turkey in the 1960s.