Posted on9. May 2022, 18:25
On Sunday evening, the Turkish children’s festival in Basel was attacked by suspected supporters of the Kurdish PKK. Police said there was no evidence of a disruption to the event. He gets criticism for that.
The attack was videotaped by several festival guests.
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On Sunday evening, a Turkish children’s festival in Basel’s market square was attacked by suspected Kurdish PKK supporters. Several dozen men took part in the attack, as reported by a family member up to 20 minutes. Five of the injured were hospitalized for treatment. The police managed to arrest five men between the ages of 24 and 30 on the spot. The prosecution has since opened a case. According to previous investigations, in the afternoon there were verbal provocations against festival visitors.
The children’s festival has been organized in Basel by the Turkish Schools Association for years and is considered an apolitical event. The Day of National Sovereignty and Children’s Day is celebrated on April 23 and has been an official holiday in Turkey since 1921.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry responded to the “devastating act” in Basel on Sunday evening. He condemned the attack in the sharpest terms. According to the statement, the fact that their goal is a festival for children in the heart of Europe once again shows the international public the “ugly face of a terrorist organization”. The Kurdish Workers’ Party of the PKK is classified as a terrorist organization and banned by Turkey, the EU and the US. It has not yet been banned in Switzerland, but federal intelligence also refers to it as a “terrorist group.” There are around 60,000 Kurds in Switzerland and the diaspora is very well represented in the Basel region.
Police out of place – “It was blue-eyed”
For the first time, a children’s festival, which has been held in Basel’s market square in more than ten years, has come under attack. The event ran smoothly in previous years, says Adrian Plachesi, a spokesman for the Basel canton of police, at the request of Adrian Plachesi. “The cantonal police also had no signs of a disruption to yesterday’s event.” Therefore, she was not there when PKK fans attacked and had to be alerted first, as confirmed by several people present up to 20 minutes.
Were the police a little naive? Yes, former SP councilor Hasan Kanber believes. “It’s hard to let the Turkish Children’s Festival take place in such a prominent place,” he says. – The more that you know about the conflict. In the Northwestern Swiss football association, where he heads the integration committee, the Kurdish and Turkish clubs have been separated in the game for more than 15 years.
“Incorporates into future police assessments”
One thing is certain: Sunday’s events are not without consequences. “The events of yesterday, Sunday, will of course be included in the future police assessment of the event,” says Plachesi. The criminal investigation into the attack has only just begun. The prosecution continues to collect photos and videos of the incident and has prepared a submission form for this purpose.
The Turkish School Association in Basel has yet to respond to a 20-minute inquiry regarding Sunday’s events.
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