Several Kurdish candidates to participate in Germany's federal election

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – German Kurds are expected to win multiple seats in the country's parliamentary elections scheduled for Sunday.

With a population of approximately one and a half million, Kurds constitute Germany's fourth-largest immigrant group.

In the upcoming vote, several parties have ethnically Kurdish candidates. Those include Vanessa Rashid (The Greens), Shoan Vaisi (Left Party), Helin Evrim Sommer (Left Party), Ferhat Asi (Free Democratic Party), Sercan Celik (Social Democratic Party), Ali Ertan Toprak (Christian Democratic Union), and others.

"The Kurds have become an important part of social and political life with the immigration to Germany since 1919. Despite this, the Kurds are still an officially excluded and denied immigration group in Germany," Left Party Federal Parliament Deputy and Development Policy Spokesperson Helin Evrim Sommer told Kurdistan 24.

She said that the fact that Kurds are still listed as Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, or Turkish rather than Kurdish in the statistics of the German Immigration Administration "is an indicator of this denial policy."

"One of the most important expectations of Kurdish voters is the end of this denial policy they have been exposed to in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran and which continues in Germany."

Evrim Sommer emphasized that the Kurds should be recognized as an independent ethnic group.

"At the same time, Kurdish voters determine their preferences through the approach of German political parties to the Kurdish issue," she said, adding that it is therefore essential for political parties to "support a democratic and peaceful solution" on Kurdistan.

She also explained that Kurdish voters are not a homogeneous political community in Germany but do converge on various issues.

"The Kurdish voters have two main demands and they agree on these issues: First, recognition of the Kurds as an independent immigrant community, and secondly, a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue."

She further claimed that Germany is not just a passive actor in the Kurdish issue. Instead, Berlin is an "involved actor that fuels war and conflict in Kurdistan with its arms sales to Turkey."

"Therefore, Germany, where approximately one and a half million Kurds live, now has a 'Kurdish issue' itself. The German state must urgently pursue a Kurdish policy independent of the Turkish state, taking into account the inclusion of the Kurds in its own country, and take concrete steps to resolve the Kurdish issue on a peaceful basis."

"Except for the Left Party (Die Linke), neither the German state nor other political parties have an independent Kurdish policy," she added.

"Kurdish policy is treated as a footnote in the Bundestag only in the context of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran policy," she added.

"It is to be expected that the German government is not interested in resolving the Kurdish issue due to its economic and military relations with Turkey, but it is a serious problem that the progressive parties in Germany do not have a specific Kurdish policy."

"The deadlock in the Kurdish issue not only prolongs and deepens the grievances of the Kurds, but also prevents the democratization of Turkey and the Middle East," the German Kurdish parliamentarian concluded.

Cahit Basar, the secretary-general of the Kurdish Community of Germany (KGD), told Kurdistan 24 that while German Kurds in the past only supported social democratic or left-leaning parties, Kurds are now also ready to vote for other parties.

"There are Kurds who vote for candidates with different views, from liberals to left parties, from Greens to  social democrats, and even be a candidate for these parties."

Cahit Başar added that one of the main demands of German Kurds from their parties is recognizing Kurdish identity.

"Kurds are still listed in official records as Turks, Iraqis, Iranians and Syrians."

He added that Kurds also see education in their mother tongue fighting racism as necessary. "The Kurdish society demands from the German government are very clear: a firm and correct policy should be pursued against racism."

On Feb. 19, nine people were killed, the majority of them Kurds, by a far-right extremist targeting two shisha bars in Hanau, near the city of Frankfurt, Hesse.

Başar noted that German Kurds also have demands on foreign policy, especially on questions pertaining to the different parts of Kurdistan in the Middle East.

"International support is important for the improvement of living standards of Kurds."

Ali Ertan Toprak, the chairman of Germany's Kurdish community and a CDU candidate for Hamburg, told Kurdistan 24 that German Kurds will have a good chance to enter the parliament.

"In this election process, the parties did not raise too many issues about immigrants and minorities in order not to give material to right-wing and populist groups. However, candidates and parties are trying to reach voters in different languages. Except for the extreme right, all parties are trying to get the votes of immigrants."

Toprak also underlined that the recognition of Kurdish identity is one of the first demands of Kurds who are defined as either Iraqi, Iranian, Turkish, or Syrian.

"But on the other hand, they want to feel that they are a part of German society."

Germany is a member of the US-led coalition, which has provided humanitarian, logistics, and military support to the Kurdistan Region over the past few years.

As part of its support to the Kurdistan Region, Germany completed construction on a new Peshmerga Hospital and officially handed it over to the KRG on Jan. 31. 2019. Moreover, Germany has provided 100,000 COVID-19 testing kits in August.

Last year, Kurdish President Barzani extended the Kurdistan Region's deep appreciation to Germany for its long-standing support to the Kurdistan Region, particularly for Germany's ongoing efforts to train the Peshmerga forces during a meeting with German MPs.

In May, Germany's outgoing ambassador to Iraq, Ole Diehl, in a meeting with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, affirmed that Berlin would continue to support "the Kurdistan Region and continue to provide assistance, especially to the Peshmerga forces in confronting ISIS terrorists."

Additional reporting by Adem Özgür