A group of nearly 15 PKK supporters wearing masks attacked Zaman's Paris office on Wednesday afternoon. They threatened 17 employees who were in the office, breaking windows, damaging furniture, televisions and computers in the building. Some sections of the building were reportedly unusable.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the attack. Turkey’s ambassador to Paris, Tahsin Burcuoğlu, paid a visit to the office in the wake of the attack and complained about the negligence of French police.
“It is clear that the fact that those responsible for this are left unpunished encourages the terrorist organization to stage new attacks. The attack today once again proves this. It is naturally the responsibility of the French state to provide peace and security for Turks living in France,” the ambassador said.
Zaman Paris representative Emre Demir said the attack is the third in the past six months. “We were attacked three times in the past six months. Although we demanded police protection several times we were not provided with guards. The main reason behind these attacks on press freedom in France is the fact that those responsible for these attacks are not punished. The latest attack not only caused material damage but threatened the lives of our staff,” he said.
Zaman’s offices in Cologne were also attacked by PKK supporters on Wednesday night when a pro-PKK group threw Molotov cocktails at the Zaman building. German police detained two people on suspected links to the attack.
Zaman offices in Europe target of PKK
Zaman’s offices in Europe have in recent months become a frequent target for the PKK. The daily’s Paris office was most recently attacked by PKK supporters on Aug. 16, 2011 and on Oct. 6, 2011.
In the October attack, a group of 25-30 PKK supporters forced their way into the office after the paper’s employees had finished their shift. The PKK supporters then attacked two Zaman personnel who were in the building at the time of the incident. The group also put up posters of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and other posters in support of the PKK on the walls of the office.
Paris is not the sole European capital where Zaman offices have been attacked by PKK supporters. On Oct. 18 of last year, Zaman’s Vienna office was partially occupied by a pro-PKK group while Molotov cocktails were thrown at the paper’s London office on Oct. 30. In the most recent incident, PKK supporters attacked Zaman’s offices in Zurich.
