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| Row over Turkish international school 'banning' Christmas | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Berlin has voiced outrage over an alleged decision by a German-backed international school in Istanbul to scrap Christmas festivities, although the claim was swiftly denied in Turkey. | Berlin has voiced outrage over an alleged decision by a German-backed international school in Istanbul to scrap Christmas festivities, although the claim was swiftly denied in Turkey. |
| “We don’t understand the surprising decision by the management of the Istanbul Lisesi,” said the German foreign ministry. | “We don’t understand the surprising decision by the management of the Istanbul Lisesi,” said the German foreign ministry. |
| “It is too bad that the good tradition of pre-Christmas intercultural exchanges at the school with a long German-Turkish tradition has been suspended,” it said. | “It is too bad that the good tradition of pre-Christmas intercultural exchanges at the school with a long German-Turkish tradition has been suspended,” it said. |
| “We are of course taking this up with our Turkish partners.” | “We are of course taking this up with our Turkish partners.” |
| Set up in 1884, Istanbul Lisesi is a Turkish-German bilingual state school but is partly backed by the German government. | Set up in 1884, Istanbul Lisesi is a Turkish-German bilingual state school but is partly backed by the German government. |
| The school denied the ban, which was first reported by the respected German news agency dpa and followed up the media and Germany and abroad. | The school denied the ban, which was first reported by the respected German news agency dpa and followed up the media and Germany and abroad. |
| “The reports in German media about restrictions on Christmas festivities of German teachers do not reflect reality,” it said. | “The reports in German media about restrictions on Christmas festivities of German teachers do not reflect reality,” it said. |
| “A concert was cancelled by the German teachers in question without explanation. There is no question of the school or its management placing an obstacle in its way or prohibiting it.” | “A concert was cancelled by the German teachers in question without explanation. There is no question of the school or its management placing an obstacle in its way or prohibiting it.” |
| Ruling AKP party MP Mustafa Yeneroglu also denied the claims, saying “such false reports do nothing for Turkey-Germany relations”. | Ruling AKP party MP Mustafa Yeneroglu also denied the claims, saying “such false reports do nothing for Turkey-Germany relations”. |
| German politicians had reacted with fury over the reports. | German politicians had reacted with fury over the reports. |
| Left party lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen told Tagesspiegel the government must “immediately summon the Turkish ambassador and send a note of protest to Ankara”. | Left party lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen told Tagesspiegel the government must “immediately summon the Turkish ambassador and send a note of protest to Ankara”. |
| The Greens’ education policy spokesman Ozcan Mutlu said the alleged ban was “simply shocking”. | The Greens’ education policy spokesman Ozcan Mutlu said the alleged ban was “simply shocking”. |
| If the ban remains, then the question of whether German taxpayers should continue to fund the school must be examined urgently, he told the media group Redaktionsnetzwerk. | If the ban remains, then the question of whether German taxpayers should continue to fund the school must be examined urgently, he told the media group Redaktionsnetzwerk. |
| Andreas Scheuer, the general secretary of the CSU – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies – said the move was “new proof that (President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan’s Turkey is burning all bridges with Europe”. | Andreas Scheuer, the general secretary of the CSU – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies – said the move was “new proof that (President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan’s Turkey is burning all bridges with Europe”. |
| Christmas is part of Germany, and that applies too for a German school abroad, Scheuer told the Funke regional media group. | Christmas is part of Germany, and that applies too for a German school abroad, Scheuer told the Funke regional media group. |
| Relations between Ankara and Berlin have been strained in the wake of the July failed military coup, with Germany repeatedly expressing concern over the scope of a massive crackdown on Erdogan’s opponents. | Relations between Ankara and Berlin have been strained in the wake of the July failed military coup, with Germany repeatedly expressing concern over the scope of a massive crackdown on Erdogan’s opponents. |
| Developments in Turkey have a strong resonance in Germany, home to a three-million-strong ethnic Turkish population, the legacy of a massive “guest worker” programme in the 1960s and 1970s. | Developments in Turkey have a strong resonance in Germany, home to a three-million-strong ethnic Turkish population, the legacy of a massive “guest worker” programme in the 1960s and 1970s. |