- Title: German Kurds protest against Turkish government after arrests
- Date: 5th November 2016
- Summary: COLOGNE, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 5, 2016) (REUTERS) KURDISH PROTESTERS GATHERING FOR DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE ARREST FOS KURDISH POLITICIANS IN TURKEY, WAVING FLAGS VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN WATCHING DEMONSTRATION PROTESTERS WAVING FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (German) PROTESTER HUSSEIN DOGAN, SAYING: "If Germany hasn't supported Erdogan's government - or still doing so - it wouldn't have gone that far. That's why we are demonstrating here. Germany must show that it's not going on like this." (SOUNDBITE) (German) PROTESTER ALIKI GEGIK, SAYING: "I am waiting for the German government. They must say and do something, something practical, I am waiting for this." MORE OF PROTESTERS GATHERING PROTESTERS MARCHING THROUGH STREET VARIOUS OF BANNERS AND FLAGS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING THROUGH STREETS
- Embargoed: 20th November 2016 14:28
- Keywords: Turkey Kurds arrests Cologne Erdogan Germany protest
- Location: COLOGNE, GERMANY
- City: COLOGNE, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001576332F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: About 6,500 Kurdish supporters demonstrated peacefully in the German city of Cologne on Saturday (November 5), protesting against the Turkish government following the arrests of leading Kurdish politicians in Turkey.
Turkish authorities ordered the formal arrest of nine staff members of a leading opposition newspaper on Saturday and detained more pro-Kurdish officials, widening an anti-terrorism probe that has drawn condemnation from the West.
Kurdish supporters at the rally in Cologne criticised Germany for not doing enough to stop Erdogan's government from detaining and suspending officials, including judges, teachers, police and civil servants following a failed military coup in July.
The HDP, Turkey's third-largest party, made history last year by becoming the first Kurdish-rooted party to win the 10 percent of the vote required to enter parliament.
Erdogan and the ruling AK Party accuse the HDP of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has carried out a violent insurgency in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast for three decades. The HDP denies direct links and says it is working for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish conflict. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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