EUROPE
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Austria says no place there for the PKK
Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz said there was no place for the terror group's "extreme left ideology" in Austria after it unfurled banners at a May Day event in Vienna.
Austria says no place there for the PKK
May Day celebrations organised by the Austrian Social Democrats and trade unions in Vienna, Austria, May 1, 2019. / AP

Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday said there was no place in his country for the PKK terrorist organisation.

Their "extreme left ideology" was not welcome Kurz said.

Kurz was speaking after PKK supporters unfurled banners at a May Day workers' rally in Vienna.

The event was organised by Austria's opposition Social Democratic Party.

Freedom Party (FPO) leader and Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache also reacted to the presence of PKK supporters during the rally in Vienna.

"Why is a terrorist organisation authorised to march?" he asked in a Twitter post.

He said the move should have consequences.

Since the 1970s, thousands of lives have been lost as a result of Turkey's conflict with the PKK, a multi-billion dollar criminal network and terror operation spanning Europe and the Middle East.

Turkey, the EU and US all list the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

SOURCE:TRTWorld and agencies