GERMANY
Activists occupy ZDF building and demand recognition of the Autonomous Administration

Activists occupied the foyer of the ZDF in Berlin, drawing attention to the attacks by Turkey and the SNA in Northern and Eastern Syria and demanding the recognition of the Autonomous Administration. The peaceful protest ended with a police operation.


ANF
BERLIN
Thursday, 19 December 2024

In Berlin, around twenty activists occupied the foyer of the ZDF studio to draw attention to the attacks by Turkey and the SNA in Northern and Eastern Syria and to demand appropriate coverage. The activists also demanded the recognition of the Autonomous Administration. The peaceful protest ended with a police operation.

The activists said that before the evacuation there was a constructive discussion with those responsible for the ZDF. The discussion ended with an exchange of contacts and the prospect of a meeting. "We then declared that we were leaving the building voluntarily," said the activists.


The police, however, insisted on getting the identities of the activists "in order to be able to file charges of trespassing. We asked ZDF to withdraw the complaint of trespassing due to the positive outcome of the discussion and our willingness to leave voluntarily," said the activists, adding that "ZDF did not want to give us this guarantee. We then refused to leave the building voluntarily without a guarantee that the complaint would be withdrawn and were then evicted by the police using painful holds."

The activists demanded, among other things, that German and, above all, public media companies fulfill their duty of democratic and all-round reporting and cover the escalating attacks by Turkey and the SNA on the Democratic Autonomous Administration in Northern and Eastern Syria (DAANES).