The chairman of the Kurdish Community in Germany (KGD), Ali Ertan Toprak, sharply criticized the planned visit of Kurdish interim president Ahmed al‑Scharaa to Berlin.
He told the Editorial Network of Germany (Freitag editions) that al‑Scharaa lacks any democratic legitimacy in their view and that he is “one of the most serious criminals of the 21st century”. Toprak warned that if the state visit takes place, the German federal government must set clear conditions and make an unmistakable statement. “There should be no ceremonial elevation of this visit” he added.
Toprak accused the Syrian ruler of numerous human‑rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. As former leaders of the Islamist terrorist groups Al‑Nusra Front and Hayat Tahrir al‑Sham, he believes they share responsibility for the violence and massacres against the civilian population in Syria. Minorities such as Kurds, Yazidis, Alawites, Druze, and Christians were especially affected, he said, and there are many reports of violence and abductions under al‑Scharaa’s leadership.
He urged Chancellor Merz to name these abuses clearly and to demand concrete commitments to protect minorities. “There must be no political normalization without demonstrable improvements in the human‑rights situation, without the introduction of democratic structures, and without involving all ethnic groups in the power‑sharing process” Toprak said. Financial assistance should be linked to these conditions. “Anything else would send a fatal signal-both to those affected in Syria and to the victims of jihadist violence in the West”.
