Turkish foreign ministry calls Berlin’s move ‘the latest example of double standards’ by Germany.
The Turkish government denounced what it called a double standard by Germany after Berlin allowed a rally by the pro-Kurdish opposition People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in the city of Cologne.
Germany, the country with the largest Turkish population in Europe, announced it would ban gatherings of foreign politicians and their supporters within its borders in advance of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary polls in Turkey on June 24.
A Turkish foreign ministry statement late on Saturday called the move to allow the HDP rally earlier in the day “the latest example of double standards” by Germany, adding symbols of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were displayed at the event
“We strongly condemn this hypocritical approach that is neither consistent with democracy nor with the fight against terrorism, nor with the expectations of normalisation in Turkish-German relations,” the ministry said.
Al Jazeera’s efforts to reach German officials were unsuccessful at the time of this story’s publication.
Turkish and German officials have engaged in a war of words in recent years. Ankara accuses Berlin of supporting “terrorism”, while Germany has denounced the deterioration of democracy and human rights in Turkey.
Turkey says Germany supports the PKK, which has waged a decades-long war against the Turkish state.
Not the first time
Along with Germany, European countries such as the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark also banned Turkish ministers from holding rallies within their borders before an April 2017 constitutional referendum in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared the ban on ministers to “Nazi practices” and called Dutch authorities “Nazi remnants” after they expelled a Turkish minister who was trying to organise a rally in the country.
Berlin and Ankara traded barbs after German authorities criticised two German football players of Turkish descent for meeting and posing in photos with Erdogan in London earlier this month.
Germany and other Western European governments have repeatedly condemned the Turkish government’s detentions and civil service purges of tens of thousands of people after a failed coup attempt in July 2016.
Erdogan’s government says the crackdown follows the rule of law and aims to remove coup supporters from state institutions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in September – during a televised debate before her country’s parliamentary elections – that Turkey “should not become a member of the EU”.
Earlier this year, she also said a formal suspension of EU talks with Turkey was on the table.
Full Text of the Press Release by Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
No: 148, 26 May 2018, Press Release regarding the election rally held by a political party from our country in Cologne, Germany
“Germany had taken a decision to ban meetings of third country politicians with their voters in Germany. We had informed the German authorities that we did not approve this regulation which is not consistent with democracy, while indicating that our government officials would not be taking any steps against this ban. Yet, we had also emphasized that we expect the ban to be implemented for all political parties without discrimination.
When we have learned that a political party from our country was to hold an election rally in Cologne, the German authorities were reminded of this and the necessary warning was made. Despite all this, there is no justification for Germany to allow such an activity today. The fact that the said rally was allowed to be organized with symbols of terror organization PKK and the participation of the affiliates of PKK in Germany is the latest example of double standards. We strongly condemn this hypocritical approach which is neither consistent with democracy nor with the fight against terrorism nor with the expectations of normalization in Turkish-German relations.”
Source: Republich of Turkey: Minstry of Foreign Affairs & Aljazeera
