Berlin
dpa
More than 1,000 people demonstrated in central Berlin against a ban on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Saturday, one day after a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Police in the German capital, which is home to a large Turkish and Kurdish population, reported an initial 800 participants, who were joined by more and more people after the protest began in the city’s Kreuzberg district.
The demonstrators carried Kurdish flags in the colours yellow, red and green. Speakers expressed criticism of Erdoğan.One demonstrator was detained temporarily and another was seen waving a flagpole around, but the protest began peacefullly, police said.
The PKK has been banned in Germany since 1993. It is also banned as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.
Police have deployed 3,000 officers on the streets of Berlin for the day - at the Kurdish protest, at a Palestinian demonstration scheduled for the afternoon and at a football friendly between Germany and Turkey being played in the Olympic Stadium in the evening.
Turkish fans have announced a march ahead of the match.
