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By Reşad Ozkan
COLOGNE, Germany – Kurdish immigrants in Germany are not formally
recognized as Kurds and efforts for formal recognition are hampered by German
business interests with Turkey, according to Mehmet Tanriverdi, head of the
Federal Association of Immigrant Groups in Germany (BAGIV).
“It is unfortunate that despite having a considerable Kurdish community in
Germany the relationship between the German government and the Kurdish groups
is not formal,” he told Rudaw in an interview. “We have tried so hard to
be recognized officially, but the German government always rejects our
initiatives.”
Tanriverdi accuses the German government of pursuing “double-standards” in
dealing with the Kurds, even though Berlin has good relations with the
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) “through its consulate, a business
representation, and a language center in Erbil.”
He says that Kurds in Germany are trying for recognition as Kurds, not “as
Turks, Iraqis, Syrians, or Iranians.”
“In all German states the Kurds do not have the right to study in their
native language, and the same is true in the fields of communication and social
affairs,” he says.
“Why does a channel like the DW (state-owned Deutsche Welle) broadcast
programs in many different languages but refuses to include Kurdish?” asks
Tanriverdi, who has lived in Germany for 33 years and has been honored by the
German chancellor for his work with immigrants, which includes help with
settling in and integration.
He believes it will help Germany, too, if Kurds are recognized for who they
are, “Because it will facilitate the integration of the Kurdish community in
Germany.”
According to Tanriverdi, Kurdish parents in Germany want their
future generation to integrate into German society but also be able to study
and learn their mother tongue.
He raised the issue of Kurdish education at the ministerial level and at a
conference on education and integration in 2007, where authorities in 16 German
states agreed to provide education facilities, in return for organizations such
as his encouraging immigrant parents participate in the education process.
There are two other Kurdish organizations in Germany known as KOMKAR and
YEK-KOM, but Tanriverdi says that they are driven by different priorities.
“Our main difference with the two organizations is that we care more about
the rights of Kurdish immigrants in Germany, but their activities are more
related to Kurdistan,” he says. “They are under the influence of Kurdish
political parties.”
But he adds that political views should not hinder cooperation.
