Ankara- Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday hit out against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for likening a German ban on rallies by his ministers to “Nazi practices”, calling the comparison “absolutely unacceptable”.
“The government will make this very clear to Turkey,” Peter Altmaier, chief of staff at the chancellery, told public broadcaster ARD. “There is absolutely no reason to allow ourselves to be reproached over this,” he added.
Several local authorities in Germany banned last week rallies by Turkish ministers seeking to campaign for support ahead of an April referendum on boosting Erdogan’s powers. The authorities had cited capacity problems in hosting the rallies, which they said would likely attract large crowds.
Merkel has said her government did not have a hand in the decisions, which fell under the jurisdiction of local authorities. But Ankara responded to the cancellations with fury.
“Germany, you have no relation whatsoever to democracy and you should know that your current actions are no different to those of the Nazi period,” Erdogan said.
Germany usually accuses Turkey of sheltering “terrorists”, hinting at Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Ankara-Berlin relations witnessed tension since the failed coup in Turkey mid of July and reached the peak when Turkey arrested German reporter Deniz Yücel for accusations of carrying out a terrorist propaganda.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu affirmed that they will go and meet Turkish citizens in Europe and will not be prevented by the traitors of PKK or those not content with Turkey strong ties with its citizens.
Cavusoglu also criticized the Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern who said that Turkish politicians should be banned from political campaigning across the European Union.
Thousands of women participated in a pro-government protest in Istanbul on Sunday to urge a yes vote on constitutional amendments. Turkish opposition and EU see that these amendments will grant the president wide powers, the thing that might promote the one-man rule.