Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused Berlin of “aiding
and harbouring” terror after German authorities banned rallies courting support
from Turkish expatriates for a constitutional change to expand Erdogan’s
powers.
Ankara and Berlin were locked in acrimony and Erdogan also claimed
a detained correspondent working for Germany’s Die Welt newspaper was a spy, an
accusation Germany said “makes no sense.”
“They need to be put on trial for aiding and harbouring terror,”
Erdogan said, criticising German authorities who had allowed outlawed Kurdish
leaders to speak but had blocked rallies where Turkish ministers sought to
address the Turkish community.
The president also claimed that Die Welt correspondent Deniz
Yucel, who was detained on Monday on terror-related charges, was a “German
agent.”
Turks vote on April 16 on whether to create a presidential system
— a change that the government says will ensure political stability, but which
critics say will drag Turkey into one-man rule.
In the runup to the referendum, controversy has flared over
politicians’ trips to Germany, where they have been seeking “Yes” votes from
the millions of people of Turkish descent.
One such event was a rally by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in
the western city of Oberhausen.
On Thursday, local authorities blocked rallies by two more Turkish
ministers, prompting a furious response from Ankara which promptly summoned the
German envoy to protest.
An incensed Erdogan, who was prevented from adressing a rally in
Cologne by video link after a failed coup in July last year, lashed out at
Germany.
“They allow Cemil Bayik to speak from (the) Kandil” mountains in
Iraq, he said, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also accused German
officials of failing to “honour democracy” and of allowing “terrorists” to
speak but denying the same right to Erdogan.
“They don’t want Turkey to campaign here, they are working for a
‘No’,” he said. “They want to get in the way of a strong Turkey.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected Turkey’s accusations,
saying the decisions were “taken by municipalities, and as a matter of
principle, we apply freedom of expression in Germany”.
Cavusoglu and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, speaking by
phone, agreed to meet next Wednesday, a senior Turkish official said.
– Another rally cancelled –
As the political fallout continued, a third German town — Frechen
on the outskirts of Cologne — scrapped a rally that had been scheduled for
Sunday, as the venue “excludes political events,” police said.
And the western town of Gaggenau, which had cancelled a rally
scheduled for Thursday by Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, said it
received a bomb threat early Friday.
“The caller cited the cancellation of the event with the Turkish
justice minister as a reason,” local official Dieter Spannagel told AFP.
Cologne city authorities also withdrew permission for the UETD to
use a hall on Sunday for a speech by Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci. But
Zeybekci said he would still go ahead with the visit.
“Even if they don’t allow (it), I will go from house to house to
meet with our citizens in Germany,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run
Anadolu news agency.
– ‘German agent’ –
Tensions have erupted previously over German criticism of the
crackdown in Turkey following last year’s failed coup, which has seen more than
100,000 people arrested, dismissed or sacked for alleged links to the plotters
or to Kurdish militants.
The Die Welt correspondent was charged on Monday by an Istanbul
court with spreading terrorist propaganda and inciting hatred.
“That person had hidden at the German consulate for a month as a
PKK representative, as a German agent,” Erdogan said, adding that Germany had
initially refused to hand him over for trial.
Speaking earlier in the day, Merkel said Berlin was right to
criticise Ankara over press freedom.
“I also think that it was right of us to criticise any
restrictions on press freedom.”
Germany is home to the biggest population of Turks outside Turkey
with around three million in the country of Turkish origin, the legacy of a
massive “guest worker” programme in the 1960s-70s.
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