German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for “enduring solidarity” at an event held in memory of those who died in the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The text of Steinmeier’s speech at the historic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was shared on the official website of the German Presidency in Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic, as well as in English.
Noting that aid is being collected for earthquake victims all over Germany including schools and daycares, offices and workshops, associations and local communities, the President urged citizens to continue these efforts as “it will be a long time before the survivors in the disaster zone are regularly provided with the basic necessities.”
However, the commemoration event caused resentment within the Kurdish community in Germany.
The Turkish Community in Germany (TGD) and the German-Syrian Aid Association organised the funeral service, and invited Steinmeier. The Kurdish officials would have liked to take part, but according to their own account, they were left out, Spiegel reported.
“Even though we are pleased that you will send an important signal with your participation, we are disappointed by the exclusion we experience from the organisers,” wrote Cahit Başar, the Secretary General of the Kurdish Community in Germany, in a letter to Steinmeier. “It gives food for thought that we, as those affected and the victims, are not allowed to speak, but only stand by.”
