Turkey summoned the German ambassador to Ankara on Saturday over what it said was a Kurdish militant rally, allegedly organized by a branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in Cologne, the foreign ministry said.
The European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCD-E) held the "25th International Kurdish Culture Festival" in the German city of Cologne earlier in the day.
"We decisively condemn the permit given by the German authorities to a PKK affiliate for holding a public event in Cologne on September 16 to propagate terrorism. Today, our ministry called in the German ambassador and voiced its strong reaction. German authorities turned a blind eye to the fact that during the event, set up under the guise of a festival, the symbols of the PKK were used, banners depicting its leader [Abdullah] Öcalan were unwrapped, and one of its acting leaders made a speech praising terrorism, which runs counter to the German law," the statement read.
