Germany's Left Party seeks closure of Turkish ultranationalist groups after France's Gray Wolves ban
Following in the footsteps of France, Germany's Left Party has called for the closure of the Federation of Associations of Turkish Democratic Idealists (ADÜTDF) -- the umbrella organization of Turkish ultranationalist groups in the country, including the Gray Wolves. Germany’s Green Party has thrown its support behind Left Party’s call, saying that it will collaborate with other parties with regards to this issue.
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Germany's Left Party (“Die Linke” in Germany) has called for the closure of the Federation of Associations of Turkish Democratic Idealists (ADÜTDF), an organization that Berlin describes as the German branch of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The call came a day after France banned the Turkish ultra-nationalist Gray Wolves group linked to the MHP.
“The [German] Federal Government has to immediately take the example of France and needs to ban the Federation of Associations of Turkish Democratic Idealists (ADÜTDF), which is the umbrella organization of the 'Gray Wolves' in this country,” Deutsche Welle's Turkish service quoted Left Party lawmaker Sevim Dağdelen as saying on Nov. 5.
Dağdelendescribed the ADÜTDF as “one of the biggest rightist organizationsthat is against the Constitution” in Germany, saying the group has7,000 members and 170 local associations.
Theright-wing organization attempts to “push Germany into polarizationand division with provocations against Kurds, Armenians, Alevis,Greeks and Jews,” said Dağdelen.
“The Gray Wolves are closely linked to the rightist Turkish party MHP, which is the coalition partner Islamist ruling [Justice and Development Party] AKP, and to a fraction of the circle of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who goes after and terrorizes those that think in a different way than him,” Dağdelen said, urging “zero tolerance for Islamist and fascist organizations.”
Three lawmakers from Germany's Green Party, Cem Özdemir, Irene Mihalic and Konstantin von Notz, have also thrown their support behind Left Party's call, saying that they will collaborate with other parties with regards to this issue and submit a joint motion to the parliament for all organizations linked to Turkey's ultra-nationalists to be closed down.
In the 1970s, the MHP began organizing Turkish workers in Western Europe through cultural institutions. Under the leadership of the MHP, the ADÜTDF was founded in Germany in 1978.