Former German lawmaker, longtime supporter of Kurds, passes away

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The former German lawmaker and Green Party member, Siegfried Martsch, a longtime supporter of the Kurdish cause, passed away Tuesday afternoon in Germany. He was 68 years old.

"One of his doctors told him he was close to losing his vision completely back in 2015," Arayish Barzinjee-Martsch, Martsch's daughter-in-law, told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday.

"Immediately he called us to arrange a visit to see Kurdistan and his beloved Kurdish friends one more time before he became completely blind," Barzinjee added.

"He was active and would do anything he could to further the (Kurdish) cause, even after he was bed-ridden because of his health," she said.

Martsch was involved in politics since he was 16 and was one of the Green Party's founders in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1989, he became the party's head in the state. He was a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Assembly from 1990 to 2000.

He became aware of the incalculable human suffering the Kurds witnessed at the hands of the Iraqi regime as nearly half of a million residents of the Kurdish region of Iraq fled Saddam Hussein's troops to the Iranian and Turkish borders in the early spring of 1991.

Saddam's brutal campaign of repression came after the Kurdish uprising that sought to oust Iraqi forces, which were debilitated by the US military in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Then US president George H. W. Bush, even as he encouraged Iraqis to revolt, allowed Saddam's Republican Guard to violently suppress the uprisings.

A Western-enforced no-fly zone would later facilitate the return of the displaced Kurds and lay the groundwork for establishing the autonomous Kurdistan Region of today.

In 1991, Martsch supported several projects in the Kurdistan Region and led aid efforts such as the Kurdistan Reconstruction Project, funded by CARITAS Switzerland. 

"He was one of the first to bring humanitarian aid to Kurds immediately in 1991. Later on, he was the Director of the Caritas Project here in Kurdistan helping in reconstruction projects and also very active in political assistance and advisory where he helped to organize the first free election in Kurdistan (in May 1992)," Barzinjee explained.

From 2004 to 2014, he was based in the Kurdish capital of Erbil, heading the German Cultural Center. Martsch worked hard to encourage local companies to support German-Kurdish trade relations.

In an earlier interview with Kurdistan 24, Martsch expressed his regrets that, due to health reasons, he could not revisit the Kurdistan Region and meet his "dear brother Kak Masoud," referring to President Masoud Barzani.

"He helped nearly all parts of Kurdistan politically, especially during his time as a German MP, he really brought a lot of light to the Kurdish cause," Barzinjee said.

Martsch "didn't stop even until his death. Somehow he was always actively promoting the cause," especially in 2017, during the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum, which saw an overwhelming majority of Kurds vote in favor of statehood.

"He was my second father and I loved him dearly. I will never forget his love for my people."

"A loving father, husband, friend and a true Peshmerga. If Kurdistan has no friends but the mountains, he is one of those mountains. He came to Kurdistan during some of its worse times, risking the life of his wife and family," Piran Barzani wrote in a tweet.

"Rebuilding village after village in Kurdistan. We as Kurds need to remember him for all he's done for us. We are forever thankful Siggi, may your soul find peace. You lived a full life, one that you, your family and all those who have known you can be proud of."

Safeen Dizayee, head of the Kurdistan Region's Department of Foreign Relations, in a tweet paid his respects to Martsch. "We as Kurds will always remember his outstanding contributions, true friendship and generosity. My sincere condolences to his family."