In his closing statement, Kenan Ayaz, a Kurdish man accused of being a PKK member in Hamburg, asks why Germany is not in favour of a solution to the Kurdistan conflict. The State Security Senate speaks of a degradation of the court.
The trial against Kenan Ayaz for membership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has continued at the Hamburg Higher Regional Court. The defendant was unable to begin his ‘last word’ on the last two trial dates, as the presiding judge Wende-Spohrs had adjourned the hearing. Today, the Kurdish activist and politician was able to read out the beginning of his trial statement after the court had closed the hearing of evidence. As expected, today’s hearing was not without interruptions.
The judge’s tactic of adjourning the hearing until there were no more listeners did not work. Once again, the courtroom was well filled, with around 25 people wanting to hear Kenan Ayaz’s trial statement. Cypriot lawyer Efstathios C. Efstathiou and another Cypriot trial observer were also present.
Ayaz: ‘The struggle for existence and freedom is not terrorism’
“The indictment skilfully conceals the genocidal mentality that the genocidal Turkish state has been using against the Kurds and other peoples for centuries. The indictment ignores the systematic terrorist attacks of the Turkish state on the Kurdish existence and treats the problem as a simple violation of human rights. The indictment treats the Kurdish struggle for existence and freedom and the legitimate defence resistance against this genocide as terrorism,’ Kenan Ayaz began his statement. He pointed out how nonsensical it is to try to resolve conflicts by military means. ‘It is possible to prevent wars and political enmities that cause great suffering and destruction and to solve problems without bloodshed if you have a developed law,’ said Ayaz.
The main task of law is not to protect and strengthen the state from the citizen, but on the contrary, to protect the citizen from the power of the state by providing him with strong fundamental rights. It is not the state that is in need of protection, but the individual, the citizen.
It is scandalous to regard the injustices against the existence of the Kurds only as limited human rights violations. They are excluded from the law as a people and cultural entity. Europe is violating its own conventions. A fundamental source of Roman law, which also forms the basis of European law, is respect for the legal existence of peoples. ‘European law in the 21st century cannot be more backward than Roman law 2500 years ago,’ Ayaz continued. The EU must put the Kurdish question on its agenda as Turkey’s main problem in order to solve it in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. So far, the EU has applied double standards and refrained from applying its own law on this issue for political reasons.
First interruption by the judge
Kenan Ayaz then went into Kurdish history. From the first finds in the Shanidar cave in southern Kurdistan to the matriarchal cultures of the Mesolithic with their worship of mother goddesses and the Neolithic in the Fertile Crescent, he drew an arc to show that the history of the ancestors of the Kurds had created a foundation for subsequent civilisations.
“This geography is very different from other regions of the world. Due to this peculiarity, values and knowledge have developed in these areas that characterise the cultural memory of humanity,’ said Ayaz on the importance of the region for human history.
After a short pause, the judge interrupted the defendant’s statement and claimed that Kenan Ayaz was going too far, which could mean an ‘abusive use of the last word’.
Kenan Ayaz responded by deviating from his prepared speech and speaking freely. He said he could only explain the Kurdish question on the basis of historical events. “I claim that the Kurds are not terrorists, they have made a great contribution to civilisation. A people that has contributed so much to civilisation should not be treated like this,’ he continued, visibly agitated.
‘Why do the Kurds have to prove their existence?’
There are many peoples who have suffered greatly, but only the Kurds have to prove their existence. A people of 40 million has no status. Although the Kurds had fought for 50 years, they still had to prove that they were not terrorists. The rights of many peoples had been recognised in the liberation struggle, such as those of the Bosnians, Kosovars or Macedonians, but those of the Kurds were still not recognised. On the contrary, thousands of Kurdish women have been sold on slave markets in the 21st century. When the Kurdish people fight back, they are called terrorists. Even in the Roman Empire, the rights of peoples were accepted, but the Kurds were thrown to the lions.
‘I am not a terrorist,’ said Ayaz. Erdogan is the biggest terrorist of the 21st century. Together with the IS, he had plunged the Middle East into a bloodbath. He should stand trial. “But at his request, you are taking me to court. I am forced to make this historical connection. I claim that the EU has a double standard when it comes to the Kurds,’ Ayaz continued. Erdogan boasted that he had killed 35,000 people. ‘I have not harmed anyone, I have not insulted anyone, but they are rolling out a red carpet for Erdogan,’ said Ayaz. Erdogan murders children, sends mothers the bones of their children in the post and when the mothers complain, they also end up in court.
In Rojava in north-east Syria, where five million people are trying to govern themselves, the people could finally have breathed a sigh of relief, but Erdogan is bombing the region in full view of the world.
Historical injustice towards the Kurds
Ayaz once again criticised the fact that he was deprived of the floor by the court when he tried to counter the analyses of expert witness Günter Seufert. History would condemn the Kurds being labelled terrorists. There is nothing that has not been done to the Kurds, they drown in the sea like Alan Kurdî, they freeze to death at the borders in winter, mothers wait for their children in front of prisons and morgues.
Kenan Ayaz drew a bow to history and said that the Kurdish language was a proto-language, agriculture and animal husbandry had developed in this geography and the Kurds fought for their rights like mothers for their children. They are a people as old as the earth itself, but if you say Kurdistan today, you will be killed or end up in prison. Ayaz used further examples such as the massacres in Zîlan or Dersim to explain the historical injustice towards the Kurds.
Germany had recognised the genocide of the Yezidi community in Şengal, but what IS had not completed, Erdogan was now continuing. He had supplied weapons to IS and trained IS fighters. Before the attacks in Belgium, Erdogan threatened Europe and said: ‘What will you do if bombs explode in your country?’ The attacks occurred shortly afterwards.
Ayaz asked why Germany was not working to resolve the Kurdistan conflict and addressed the State Security Senate directly: ‘I have been in court again and again for 30 years to obtain rights that you were born with.’
‘You have the opportunity to intervene’
Turkey had even turned a European Championship match into a fascist event. Under the slogan ‘This time we win’, a reference to the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1529 was made during the match against Austria.
Turkey had burnt 4,000 villages in Kurdistan. 20,000 people were murdered by the JITEM. “Why does a state set fire to 4,000 villages? Why does a state bomb cities like Nisêbîn, Cizîr or Gever?’ Ayaz asked the court.
Turkey is committing genocide, but the conflict is not being resolved. The ban on Kurdish organisations is intended to prevent the Kurds from reaching the world public. ‘We are being massacred, sold on slave markets, burned in cages, but you are not putting the perpetrators on trial, but those who rebel against it.’ The court would have the opportunity to intervene if it said that the Kurdish question was a political conflict, Ayaz appealed.
It was very difficult for the interpreter to translate Kenan Ayaz’s entire free speech, as it was delivered quickly and very emotionally. After a short break, it became clear that this emotional appeal with a multitude of examples of injustice towards the Kurdish people did not reach the court.
Lack of empathy on the part of the court
Wende-Spohrs was in no way affected by the descriptions of the atrocities committed against the Kurds, but instead described Kenan Ayaz’s speech as a disparagement of the court. He had said that the court had no empathy and was ‘controlled by force’.
Another hour was spent clarifying whether Ayaz had used the word ‘coercive’ or not. Although the interpreter explained that Kenan Ayaz had not used the word, but that she may have mistranslated it, Wende-Spohrs insisted that the defendant had tried to demean the court.
After another pause, Kenan Ayaz was able to continue. “I am talking about massacres that we have experienced. If you have no empathy for that, I don’t think it makes sense for me to continue,’ he commented.
Nevertheless, he continued with his original speech and elaborated on the importance of the contribution of the Neolithic revolution in the Fertile Crescent. Ayaz went on to discuss the role of Europe in the subjugation of the Kurds. Due to the intervention of Great Britain in the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire, which had a federal character and thus included autonomous Kurdish principalities, came under pressure. A century of uprisings and resistance thus began in Kurdistan.
At this point, Ayaz was interrupted again and the judge adjourned the trial until Monday 22 July at 9:30 am.
Continuation on Monday
Kenan Ayaz’s last word could continue for several more days. Further scheduled dates are 29 July at 1 pm and 19 August at 9.30 am. The trial will take place on the first floor of the Hamburg Higher Regional Court at Sievekingplatz 3, either in room 237 or 288.
The website kenanwatch.org provides information in Greek, English and German about the trial and the protests in Cyprus and Germany. Kenan Ayaz is happy to receive mail. Letters can also be written in languages other than Kurdish or Turkish, as translation is guaranteed. Please note the spelling of the authority’s name ‘Ayas’ so that the letters can be delivered.
Kenan Ayas
Hamburg remand centre
Holstenglacis 3
20355 Hamburg
Donation account:
Rote Hilfe e.V. OG Hamburg
Keyword: Free Kenan
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