Nine Turks, including five children and a pregnant woman, were killed in the fire in Ludwigshafen on Sunday. The cause of the fire has not been determined yet and there are suspicions that it could have been an arson attack. Erdoğan is expected to visit the scene of the fire today and meet with family of the victims. During his talks with Merkel on Friday, Erdoğan will urge the German chancellor to order a thorough investigation of the incident. He is also expected to call for joint work to resolve problems of the Turkish community in Germany and to discuss the German government's policies toward Turks and immigrants in general. Germany's Turkish community of 2.5 million, the biggest immigrant group in the country, has traditionally been a bridge contributing to friendly ties between Turkey and Germany. But Turks have grown increasingly uncomfortable in the past couple of years amidst government efforts to toughen immigrant laws and a rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric among the conservative German political groups. Ankara has repeatedly called on the German government to work together to resolve the Turkish community's problems and urged the German authorities to avoid discriminatory practices.
Intelligence report on PKK
In talks with Merkel, Erdoğan also shared a detailed report on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) activities in Germany. The report on PKK activities was prepared by Turkish intelligence units upon a request by German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble during his visit to Turkey.
During his meeting with Erdoğan on Monday, Schauble underlined that Germany has launched large-scale operations against the PKK in the last few years. He also asked Erdoğan to have a report prepared on the group's financial resources and its activities in Germany.
"Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium are among prominent countries from where significant financial support flows to the PKK terrorist organization. The PKK also uses these countries as its base for drug trafficking and arms smuggling," says the report. Financial support of $430 million flows to the terrorist organization each year from various European countries.
The report also states that the majority of land mines used by the terrorist group are Italian, Russian and German made. Of thousands of hand grenades of various makes, the majority were found to come from Russia, the US and Germany. The A-4 and C-4 explosives used in terrorist attacks by the group were found to be Portuguese-made.
The report underlines that the PKK has 37 front organizations in Germany, including the Federation of Kurdish Associations in Germany and the Association of German-Kurdish Friendship. The PKK carries out a significant portion of its separatist activities via the Federation of Kurdish Associations in Düsseldorf. The federation has 189 branches all across Germany, including cultural and information centers.
The majority of the PKK's periodicals are published in Frankfurt. The group has 13 magazines and local newspapers in Germany.
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