We stand in solidarity with the Kurdish community who are being criminalised by the British police: their community centre in Haringey (London) has been shut down, six people, two women and four men, have been arrested and their homes raided as part of a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation ‘into suspected activity linked to the proscribed group’ Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the ‘PKK’, despite the acknowledgement that there is no ‘imminent threat to the public’. Kurdish activists will be on hunger strike until the reopening of their centre and the release of those arrested.
It is believed that the UK government is acting on the behest of the Turkish government, a NATO ally, which has followed policies of intense repression against the Kurds and the PKK which is fighting for the self-determination of the Kurdish people.
The stereotyping of all Kurdish people as belonging to the PKK is a travesty. Aggressive policing against minoritised communities is a longstanding feature of the Met police, an aspect of policing which we have all faced, challenged and campaigned against. Without evidence, police action amounts to harassment.
The Kurdish Centre must be reopened and those who have been arrested should be released.
