German police criticized for using violence on Turk

By Cigdem Alyanak

ANKARA

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Monday "strongly" criticized German police for using violence on Turkish citizen who was protesting against a pro-PKK demonstration in the German city of Stuttgart.

Speaking at an investment-related event in Ankara, Yildirim said: "I strongly condemn the German police for using violence not on terrorists but on a [Turkish] citizen who was protesting against [pro-PKK] terrorists."

On Sunday, the German police officers forced Turkish citizen, Yusuf Unsal, to the ground and arrested him when he protested against the PKK demonstration in Stuttgart.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had phoned Unsal and extended get-well wishes.

At the pro-PKK demonstration, the terror group's sympathizers could be seen holding anti-Turkey and anti-Erdogan and chanting slogans.

The PKK has been banned in Germany since 1993, but it remains active, with nearly 14,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population in the country.

Ankara has long criticized Berlin for not taking serious measures against the PKK and its Syrian branch PYD/YPG, which use the country as a platform for their fund-raising, recruitment, and propaganda activities.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years and has been responsible for the death of nearly 40,000 people, including those of women and children.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK resumed its decades-old acts of terror in July 2015.