The Turkish-German association Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation e.V. (IHH e.V.) ("International Humanitarian Aid Organization – registered association") or IHH Germany, was a registered association based in Frankfurt[1] with branches in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria.

In July 2010, Germany outlawed the Internationale Humanitaere Hilfsorganisation (IHH), saying it has used donations to support projects in Gaza that are related to Hamas, which is considered by the European Union to be a terrorist organization,[2][3] while presenting their activities to donors as humanitarian help. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said, "Donations to so-called social welfare groups belonging to Hamas, such as the millions given by IHH, actually support the terror organization Hamas as a whole."[2][3] IHH e.V. was believed by the German Authorities to have collected money in mosques and to have sent $8.3 million to organizations related to Hamas.[1]

The main figures in IHH Germany are also active in the Islamic group Millî Görüş, which has been under observation by German authorities.[4]

According to the website of IHH Germany (now inaccessible), the association was founded in 1998, with the name Initiative Humanitäre Hilfe (Initiative Humanitarian Aid).[5]

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu criticized Germany for banning IHH Germany while remaining silent on the PKK in Germany, which has been designated as a terrorist organization according to German court rulings.[6]

The Dutch government froze the bank assets of the Dutch branch (Internationale Humanitaire Hulporganisatie) in April 2011, stating that research by the Dutch intelligence service had shown it had transferred millions of euros to IHH Germany.[7]

Relationship with IHH Turkey

According to German authorities, IHH Germany and IHH Turkey share the same roots, originally being one organization founded in 1992 in Freiburg, Germany, that split in 1997;[8][9][10] the Turkish IHH has said in response that it is not "in any way related" to IHH Germany, and stated that the German IHH was founded by "a completely different group of people" having no association with the Turkish IHH.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Germany IHH e.V. ban shameful, illegal, says group leader. Today's Zaman, Jul 14, 2010
  2. 1 2 Germany bans group accused of Hamas links, Ynet 07.12.10
  3. 1 2 Germany outlaws IHH over claimed Hamas links, Haaretz 12.07.10
  4. ↑ Germany bans group accused of financing Hamas; donations collected by Milli Gorus, By Verena Schmitt-Roschmann (CP)
  5. ↑ "Was ist die IHH?" [What is the IHH?]. Archived from the original (dead link) on 2010-04-17. Retrieved 2010-07-14. Die Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation IHH ist ein eingetragener Verein und wurde im Jahr 1998 unter dem Namen "Initiative Humanitäre Hilfe" gegründet. (The Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation IHH is a registered association and was founded in 1998 under the name "Initiative Humanitäre Hilfe".)
  6. ↑ "Davutoğlu Almanya'ya Çattı: İHH'yı Yasaklıyorsunuz da PKK'ya Neden Tepkisizsiniz? – Güncel Haberler, Son Dakika Haberleri, Turktime Haber Portalı". Turktime. July 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Tegoeden hulpclub IHH-Nederland bevroren" [Assets help club IHH-Netherlands frozen]. Trouw (in Dutch). ANP. April 28, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  8. ↑ "De Maizière verbietet Verein wegen Spenden an Hamas" [De Maizière outlaws Organization for Donations to Hamas] (in German). Zeit Online. July 12, 2010.
  9. ↑ Daniel Schäfer (July 12, 2010). "Germany bans charity over Hamas claims". FT.com. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  10. ↑ Hurriet Daily News, Confusion deepens over Turkish, German aid charities, Tuesday, July 13, 2010
  11. ↑ "We have no links with the IHH in Germany". İHH (Turkey). July 12, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
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