ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A member of Germany’s Green Party said on Thursday that protecting minorities is important to his party, especially the Kurds, and highlighted the need to develop ties with the Kurdistan Region and Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava).
“Protecting minorities is very important for us. Germany is home to the biggest Kurdish diaspora in the world, which is why it is important for us to strengthen the Kurdish culture and language in our community,” Max Lucks told Rudaw’s Alla Shally.
“For example, we are thinking about starting a support program to establish Kurdish studies in all the schools,” he added.
There is a large Kurdish population in Germany, estimated at more than one million. Most originate from Turkey, but Kurds have also migrated from Iraq, Syria, and Iran, fleeing war or persecution in their home country.
Immigration is one of the main issues in Germany’s parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on February 23. The far-right, which support anti-migration policies, is looking to make an electoral breakthrough.
“It is also important for us to strengthen our relations with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and to make new ties with the autonomous Kurds in northeast Syria,” Lucks said.
Germany’s foreign minister, who visited Damascus, said that Kurds must be part of the country’s transition after the regime of Bashar al-Assad and called for the inclusion of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is the de facto army of Rojava, in the new security apparatus.
The SDF is the main ally of the United States-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria. Germany is an active member of the coalition.
“The first thing Germany can do for the Kurds in Syria is to continue putting pressure on Turkey to stop their illegal military operations. These military operations are a gift to Daesh [ISIS] and allow them to resurge,” Lucks said.
Turkey alleges that members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are among the ranks of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the Kurdish-led SDF, and has carried out several military operations against them.
The Green Party is considered center-left and working class. They are committed to ecological, economic, and social sustainability. Their long-term goal is a federal European republic.
