Anger in the Kurdish community of France – Ankara blames Paris

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As early as Friday afternoon, Paris looked like a war zone with protesters chanting – among other things – slogans against Recep Tayyip Erdogan

By Athena Papakosta

Members of the Kurdish community held a silent protest march yesterday afternoon in the center of Paris three 24 hours after the murderous attack on the eve of Christmas that killed three Kurds in the 10th arrondissement of the French capital.

At the same time, the French ambassador, Hervé Magreux, was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara on Monday, and the Turkish side’s displeasure was expressed to the PKK supporters’ propaganda against Turkey, which the Turkish leadership considers to be unfolding in France accusing Paris of allowing PKK supporters to demonstrate in the French capital.

As early as last Friday afternoon as well as on Saturday, Christmas Eve, Paris looked like a war zone with protesters pouring into the streets and chanting – among other things – slogans against the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the Kurdish community of France blames Ankara, pointing out that the Turkish president and the Turkish state are behind the attack. Heavy police forces tried to disperse the crowd by using tear gas.

The 69-year-old pensioner, who is accused of killing three Kurds, was discharged from the psychiatric clinic where he had been transferred. During police questioning, he explained that his “hatred of foreigners became pathological” after a burglary at his home in 2016. He also claimed to be depressed and suicidal. He has now been remanded in custody on preliminary charges of racially motivated murder and weapons violations.

The representatives of the Kurdish community are asking for answers, while accusing the French state of leaving it unprotected over time. However, Paris considers this to be an isolated event.

The dead from Friday’s attack are three. Among them is Emine Kara, head of the Kurdish women’s movement in France who had even taken part in the armed struggle against the Islamic State.

Yesterday evening hundreds of people marched in Paris in memory of the victims. At the scene of the attack, protesters placed photos of the victims, flowers and lit candles. Then, he marched along the street of the same district where, on January 9, 2013, three members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party were murdered, a case that has not been resolved to this day.

France’s Kurdish community is in an uproar and is demanding that the French government declare the attack a terrorist attack.

The answer came from the Turkish defense minister. “The snake the French were rearing began to bite itself. Everyone must now see the true face of the PKK, this terrorist organization,” Hulusi Akar said, according to Hürriyet. An adviser to the Turkish president also condemned the riots in Paris, accusing the PKK of “the same terrorist organization you support in Syria”, as he said.

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