By Serife Cetin
BRUSSELS
Turkey has strongly criticized the European Parliament's friendly attitude towards the PKK terror group, including its call to halt the ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, holding a PKK exhibition in Brussels and hosting wanted PKK terrorists.
Coming to the forefront with its anti-Turkey attitude, the European Parliament members usually make statements and attempts against Ankara, ignoring the country’s security concerns and international interests.
On Thursday, the European Parliament drafted a motion calling on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Syria's Afrin region.
European Parliament's motion, calling on Turkey to stop Operation Olive Branch, has been seen in the country as a reflection of the European Parliament members' closeness to PKK, which is in the EU terrorist watch list.
The PYD/PKK is the Syrian branch of the terrorist group PKK, which is responsible for over 40,000 deaths, in a violent campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years.
Joining European Parliament meetings
PKK ringleaders, including wanted terrorists are attending conferences as speakers held under the name of 'International Kurdish Conference' by the European Parliament every year.
In such conferences, calls for removal of the PKK from terror watch lists and release of PKK's jailed head Abdullah Ocalan are made.
Former co-leader of PYD/PKK terrorist group Salih Muslum and one of the PKK/KCK ringleaders in Europe Zubeyir Aydar attended to the conference in 2016; Aydar has been accused of being a senior member of the PKK’s European arm.
On Feb. 27, Muslum was set free by a Czech court despite having a verdict against him in Turkey and a red notice out for him. He was detained on Feb. 25 in Prague after Turkey called on the Czech Republic to arrest the ex-terrorist leader.
The Turkish Interior Ministry had offered a bounty of nearly $1 million on Muslum, who has been listed as a most wanted terrorist. Muslum is being sought on charges of disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state, homicide, attempted homicide, damaging public property and transporting hazardous substances.
The PYD/PKK is a Syrian offshoot of the PKK which has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.
European Parliament chair in 2016 Martin Schulz and EU commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn were criticized by Turkey after they met Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) fugitive deputy Faysal Sariyildiz, who has been accused of providing weapons to the PKK terrorist group.
Slamming the meeting, Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said: "This [meeting] means 'We want the relations with Turkey to get worse', this is unacceptable.”
In 2016, following invitations by French Left Front Party deputy Marie-Christine Vergiat and Bodil Valero from the Swedish Green Party, the European Parliament hosted HDP representative in Europe, Eyup Doru, who was in northern Iraq's Mt. Qandil for a while -- the PKK terrorist group’s headquarters -- and remains wanted by red notice for terror activities.
The European Parliament has also done a live broadcast with a female YPG terrorist in a session where they discussed developments in the Middle East in 2017.
Several European Parliament deputies also appeared in some PKK demonstrations where they held posters protesting Turkey's anti-terror operation during a session on Syria. On the posters "Afrin is not alone" messages can be seen.
‘PKK not a threat’
European Parliament's rapporteur for Turkey, Kati Piri, who is a Dutch citizen, said in an interview in January 2018 that the PKK is not a threat to Europe and the main focus should be on Daesh.
Some European countries are making distinctions between terrorist organizations. After Daesh attacks in Turkey, many public offices in Europe used Turkish flag images on facades; however, they do not act in the same way after PKK attacks Turkey.
Also in 2016, 100 European Parliament deputies signed a notice so that PKK would be removed from terrorist watch list.
PKK exhibition
In July 2016, an exhibition showing photographs of Ocalan and PYD/PKK members was inaugurated at the European Parliament building in Brussels.
The exhibition, hosted by socialist European Parliament member Josef Weidenholzer, remained open for a week.
Photographs of PKK terrorists taken in Syria's north were exhibited and information on PKK's so-called cantons were displayed.
On July 13, 2016, Turkey condemned the exhibition; Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement: "Both Daesh and PKK are terrorist organizations."
The ministry added the European Parliament acted as an instrument of propaganda for a terrorist organization that kills innocent people almost every day and it had encouraged terror.
The ministry also said this behavior was disrespectful to terror victims and double standards are seriously harming the image of the European Parliament.
