Ankara urges Paris to prevent terrorist propaganda

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu discussed with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna the violent protests that ravaged Paris following a deadly shooting on December 23, the Foreign Ministry announced on December 29.

“France has seen the true face of terrorist organizations with this incident,” Çavuşoğlu told Colonna, according to the ministry’s statement, Daily Sabah reports.

 “The black propaganda launched by the PKK and its offshoots PYD/YPG against Türkiye by using the attack as an excuse, as well as French politicians posing with pictures of terrorist leaders and banners are unacceptable,” the minister said, urging France not to allow terrorist propaganda to be perpetrated in the country.

The minister was referring to the violent demonstrations staged by the supporters of the PKK terrorist organization in the French capital last weekend after a 69-year-old gunman with a “pathological” hatred of foreigners opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre in the city, killing three and injuring three others.

For the past week, PKK terrorist sympathizers have been rallying across Paris, London and Dortmund in protest of the racist attack, looting public property, throwing stones at shops and houses, clashing with the police and chanting anti-Türkiye slogans in front of Turkish embassies. Protests in Paris saw 31 French police officers injured and 11 detained, local media reported.

Türkiye has been alarmed about the recent insurgence and warning Western countries about curbing public support for the PKK, which feeds itself through human trafficking, drugs and organized crime across the bloc.

On December 26, the Foreign Ministry summoned the French envoy to Ankara to express Türkiye’s concerns about the black propaganda PKK sympathizers have been spreading, as well as the support of some French politicians.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar too told a presser earlier this week the violent protests must have shown Europe “how troublesome it is to help and enable terrorists," while Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın shared a video of torn-down streets in Paris on Twitter saying: "This is PKK in France. The same terrorist organization you support in Syria. The same PKK has killed thousands of Turks, Kurds and security forces over the last 40 years. Now they are burning the Paris streets. Will you still remain silent?”

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the European Union and the United States, and is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG, which also has a presence in Europe and is sanctioned by several governments, is the PKK's Syrian branch.