Germany has cut the financial incentives for the Kurdish German Association due to its links with the PKK terrorist organization.
The association's recent application for funding was rejected by Dierk Schittkowski, the head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Bremen, the German language daily, Tageszeitung reported Wednesday.
In a briefing, Schittkowski said the Kurdish German Association had used posters with the pictures of imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan and PKK flags in previous events.
"The association is linked to the PKK, is subordinate to it organizationally and is attached to its orders," he added.
Berlin banned the usage of PKK placards, flags and Öcalan's pictures with a decree in 2017.
Çem Cadırcı of the Kurdish German Association said, "Of course, there are people among us that sympathize with the PKK as a liberation organization."
Despite its international status as a terrorist organization, the PKK has enjoyed relative freedom in European cities and has a particularly strong presence in Germany.
PKK followers committed 1,873 criminal offenses in Germany last year, according to annual statistics announced by the German Interior Ministry, an increase of more than 80% over the previous year, while violent offenses rose from 152 to 305.
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician Thomas Ventzke also supported the denial of financial aid and said, "As long as the association is under the supervision of the Protection of the Constitution, we cannot approve the aid."
Supporters of the PKK and its Syrian branch, the People's Protection Units (YPG), claimed responsibility last year for dozens of attacks on mosques, associations and other Turkish institutions in Germany to protest Turkey's counterterrorism operations in northwestern Syria.
Ankara has long criticized Berlin for not taking serious measures against the PKK and its affiliates in Germany, which use the country as a platform for fundraising, recruitment and spreading propaganda.
Last September, a similar event took place when PKK sympathizers took to the streets of Cologne but faced no police intervention.