D脺SSELDORF, Germany (AP) 鈥� Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday in the German city of D眉sseldorf against Turkey鈥檚 alleged use of chemical weapons in the Kurdish region and the international community鈥檚 apparent apathy about the issue.
The participants started at two separate locations before joining under the motto 鈥淪top Chemical Warfare in Kurdistan!鈥� Speakers criticized international governments for not doing more to address alleged war crimes that have been denied by Turkey.
D眉sseldorf police spokesman Marcel Fiebig told The Associated Press that 鈥渟everal thousand鈥� people took part in the demonstration organized by Kon-Med, a Germany-based association of Kurdish groups.
Last month, Turkish officials strongly rejected the allegations made by Kurdish militants that the Turkish military used chemical weapons against the banned Kurdistan Workers鈥� Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, insisting the military doesn鈥檛 have such weapons.
Those statements did little to assure Saturday鈥檚 demonstrators, who were critical of Germany鈥檚 reticence to investigate.
鈥淭he 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,鈥� said Z眉beyde Z眉mr眉t of Kon-Med. 鈥淭he federal government supports the regime in Ankara politically, financially and also militarily. If the federal government remains inactive in the face of these crimes, we believe that it is jointly responsible for the crimes in Kurdistan.鈥�
Last month, , president of the Turkish Medical Association, after she called for an independent investigation into allegations that Turkey鈥檚 military had used chemical weapons against Kurdish militants.
Fincanci, a leading human rights activist, was detained on charges of disseminating 鈥渢errorist propaganda,鈥� according to the Ankara chief prosecutor鈥檚 office.
Turkey has been conducting a series of military operations in northern Iraq since 2019, saying it's targeting the PKK to prevent it from launching cross-border attacks on Turkey.
The Associated Press
