G20: Dozens of PKK supporters rally in Hamburg
PKK followers rally in Hamburg despite German government’s ban on terror group's flags and posters
Supporters of PKK/PYD terrorist organization, holding posters of PKK/PYD terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan and rags symbolizing the terrorist organization, march during the protests against G20 Leaders' Summit in Hamburg, Germany on July 08, 2017. ( Cüneyt Karadağ - Anadolu Agency )
By Ayhan Simsek
HAMBURG, Germany
Supporters of the terrorist group PKK rallied in Hamburg on Saturday with banned posters and flags, despite the German government’s decision to prohibit such symbols.
Dozens of PKK followers joined anti-G20 protests in Hamburg, carrying flags of the PKK and its Syrian offshoot the PYD, and of the terrorist organization's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Police did not intervene to stop these protestors, even though the government banned these flags and symbols in March.
The Turkish government has repeatedly urged German authorities to take measures against the PKK, which has also beenoutlawed in Germany since 1993.
The PKK has more than 14,000 followers in Germany among the Kurdish migrant population, and raised more than €13 million ($14.3 million) in 2015, according to reports by the German domestic intelligence agency, the BfV.
The terrorist group -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015 and since then has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,200 security personnel and civilians, including women and children.
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