German Supreme Court Criminalizes P

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: German Supreme Court Criminalizes Pro-Kurdish Publications

German Supreme Court Criminalizes Pro-Kurdish Publications

On April 9, 1997, Germany's Supreme Court issued rulings on two
appeals concerning publications which deal with the national
liberation struggle in Kurdistan. The first was an appeal from the
weekly magazine "Biji", which had been criminalized by a court in
Nurnberg for publishing communiques from the People's Liberation
Army of Kurdistan (ARGK). Lawyers for Biji argued to the Supreme
Court that since the November 1993 banning by Interior Minister
Kanther of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and other Kurdish
organizations in Germany did not mention the ARGK by name,
publishing texts from the ARGK could not be considered a criminal
offence. The German judges disagreed, however, saying that the
ARGK is "the heart of the PKK", that it is "essential" to the
politics of the PKK, therefore by publishing ARGK texts, the
magazine Biji was guilty of spreading propaganda on behalf of the
PKK, a criminal offence in Germany.

In its second ruling, the German Supreme Court overturned an
acquittal of another publication, the bi-weekly magazine
"Kurdistan-Rundbrief". The paper had been acquitted of any
wrongdoing last fall, after the paper published a speech by PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan which was read at a peace demonstration in
the summer of 1995 in Bonn. A lower court in Cologne had ruled
that printing the speech was permissible as freedom of the press,
and that Minister Kanther's position on the issue was "entirely
false". German federal authorities appealed this decision to the
Supreme Court, however, and were successful. The high court has
now reversed the acquittal, so Kurdistan-Rundbrief will soon be
put on trial once again - for publishing a peace message.

Both of these decisions make it clear that Germany's unbending
support for the colonial-fascist regime in Turkey has not changed,
nor is it likely to change any time soon. The German authorities,
like their counterparts in Ankara, will not tolerate any form of
support for the national liberation struggle in Kurdistan. Even
mere words are not permissible. Whereas apologists for Turkey's
genocidal suppression of the Kurds are allowed to spew forth lies
and disinformation about the Kurdish liberation movement as much
as they like, and fascist organizations such as the MHP are
allowed to organize freely in Germany, those who seek to defend
the interests of the national liberation movement are suppressed
at every turn.

For Free Information On Movements Of Resistance!
Solidarity With The PKK/ERNK/ARGK!
For A Free And Independent Kurdistan!

(Written by Arm The Spirit, with info from Kurdistan-Rundbrief)

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