Turkey denounces French politicians for attending protest at killing of Kurds


  • World
  • Thursday, 29 Dec 2022

FILE PHOTO: Protestors clash with French police during a demonstration near the Rue d'Enghien after gunshots were fired killing and injuring several people in a central district of Paris, France, December 23, 2022. REUTERS/Clotaire Achi/File Photo

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Thursday denounced French politicians for attending a Paris protest at the killing of three Kurds, in which demonstrators waved flags of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Clashes broke out last week between police and Kurdish protesters angry at the killing of three members of their community by a gunman on Friday.

Some protesters waved flags of the PKK, labelled a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, and posters of its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu complained about the gathering in a call with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

"Minister Cavusoglu ... stressed that it is unacceptable that French politicians' attended events (protests) in which flags of the terrorist organisation PKK and posters of its leader were waved. He said France should not allow such activities," the ministry said.

Turkey said on Monday it had summoned France's ambassador to denounce French government officials' and politicians' "involvement in anti-Turkey propaganda".

The French government asked police to bolster protection of Kurdish community sites after the killings, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday. President Emmanuel Macron said Kurds had become the target of a "heinous" attack.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Nick Macfie)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In World

U.S. crude oil inventories up last week: API
Peru president's brother gets 3 years pre-trial detention in corruption case
U.S. stocks close mixed before Nvidia results
Economic Watch: Hong Kong to be more popular int'l financial center as market confidence perks up
Meta hires Salesforce's AI chief to lead new business AI group
Blinken calls Venezuela's opposition leader Gonzalez 'president-elect'
Pressure grows on Germany's Scholz over bid for second term
Weather warnings issued in U.S. Northern California ahead of bomb cyclone
Chinese ambassador visits highway project in northern Mongolia
Speak up against Band Aid Christmas hit, British-Ghanaian singer tells music stars

Others Also Read