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Erdoğan accuses Germany of 'Nazi practices' over blocked political rallies | Erdoğan accuses Germany of 'Nazi practices' over blocked political rallies |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has lashed out at Germany for blocking several rallies on its soil in the run-up to a referendum in Turkey in April, likening its stance to Nazi practices. | |
“Your practices are not different from the Nazi practices of the past,” Erdogan said of Germany at a women’s rally in Istanbul ahead of the referendum on changes to the constitution that would boost his powers as president. | |
“I thought it’s been a long time since Germany left [Nazi practices]. We are mistaken,” he added. | |
Last week federal authorities in two German states withdrew permission for political rallies targeted at Turkish residents in Germany amid growing public outrage over Ankara’s arrest of a Turkish-German journalist. | |
Authorities in Cologne, in North-Rhine Westphalia, and Gaggenau, in Baden-Württemberg. cited security concerns for the rallies’ cancellation. An appearance at a Cologne hotel by Turkey’s minister for the economy, Nihat Zeybekci, was scheduled to go ahead with increased police security. | |
Angela Merkel had rejected calls for a general ban on Erdoğan or his minister campaigning in Germany last week, with her spokesperson arguing that it was important to respect freedom of speech. | |
The cancellations have infuriated the Turkish government, which accused Berlin of working against the “yes” campaign in the referendum and summoned the German ambassador to the foreign ministry in protest. | The cancellations have infuriated the Turkish government, which accused Berlin of working against the “yes” campaign in the referendum and summoned the German ambassador to the foreign ministry in protest. |
“You will lecture us about democracy and then you will not let this country’s ministers speak there,” said an angry Erdoğan, adding that Germany was not “respecting opinion and thought”. | “You will lecture us about democracy and then you will not let this country’s ministers speak there,” said an angry Erdoğan, adding that Germany was not “respecting opinion and thought”. |
Some German politicians criticised Erdoğan‘s Nazi comparison. The Green MP Volker Beck, who was arrested at a gay pride event in Istanbul in June 2016, tweeted: “Now he [Erdoğan] has lost it.” | |
Jetzt ist er übergeschnappt: Erdogan wirft Deutschland «Nazi-Praktiken» bei Absage von Redeauftritten vor. Apropos: https://t.co/9yTYQHAndg | |
Merkel called Binali Yıldırım, Turkey’s prime minister, on Saturday to try to defuse the row, and the two countries’ foreign ministers are due to meet in Germany on Wednesday. | |
In an op-ed in Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Germany’s foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, described the war of words as a “difficult stress test” and warned that “the basis for friendship between our two countries must not be allowed to be destroyed”. | |
Relations between Turkey and Germany lurched into crisis after the arrest last week of Deniz Yücel, a correspondent for Die Welt, pending a trial on charges of propaganda and incitement to hatred. Erdoğan claimed the journalist was a German spy and a representative of the outlawed Kurdish rebel group PKK. | |
Erdoğan accused Berlin of harbouring him for a month at the German consulate in Istanbul before agreeing to hand him over to authorities. “They need to be put on trial for aiding and abetting terrorism,” Erdoğan said during a speech on Friday. | Erdoğan accused Berlin of harbouring him for a month at the German consulate in Istanbul before agreeing to hand him over to authorities. “They need to be put on trial for aiding and abetting terrorism,” Erdoğan said during a speech on Friday. |