Swiss envoy summoned over rally

‘Ankara may hold referendum on EU bid’

ISTANBUL, March 26, (Agencies): Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Switzerland’s charge d’affairs in Ankara on Saturday to complain about a protest in Bern that it said supported terrorism and included a poster calling for the assassination of President Tayyip Erdogan.

Earlier on Saturday several thousand people including Kurdish protesters joined a rally in the Swiss capital calling for a ‘No’ vote in Turkey’s April 16 referendum that could give sweeping powers to Erdogan under a constitutional overhaul.

The referendum issue has already badly strained relations between Turkey and several European countries, including Germany, after they banned Turkish ministers from campaigning on their territory for a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum.

Launch

The Turkish foreign ministry said it expected Swiss authorities to launch a criminal investigation into Saturday’s demonstration in Bern.

“The judicial and administrative steps that will be taken by Swiss federal and local authorities will be closely followed by our ministry and our efforts on this will continue,” it said in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also phoned his Swiss counterpart to express Ankara’s anger, the ministry said.

A spokesman for the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed Ankara had summoned its envoy and said the incident would be investigated.

“The competent authorities will have to check whether the organisers of the rally have violated the permit requirements

Suspecting that local collaborators with Israel were involved, Hamas has since deployed dozens of checkpoints across the Gaza Strip, where drivers are asked to or if there are other criminal offences,” he said.

Organisers and Bern police said the rally had passed peacefully.

Michael Sorg, a spokesman for Switzerland’s Social Democrats, one of the organisers of the rally, confirmed the anti-Erdogan poster.

“This was the only poster which fell below the limits of decency. All other posters were decent,” he said.

On Saturday, Erdogan also slammed Switzerland over the demonstration and said the crowd had included supporters of terrorist groups.

Referring to the poster of him with a gun pointed to his head, Erdogan said: “Could there be such a mentality, such an understanding?”

Ankara has accused some European countries of allowing ‘No’ supporters to campaign freely ahead of the Turkish referendum while deliberately banning rallies planned by the ‘Yes’ camp.

Germany and the Netherlands, both home to many expatriate Turks with the right to vote in the referendum, have said the decision to ban several planned rallies was taken on security grounds and was not politically motivated.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Turkey may hold a second referendum on whether to continue with European Union accession talks, following a planned vote on April 16 that could give him sweeping new powers.

“Right now we are holding a referendum on April 16 and after that we could choose to do a second one on the (EU) accession talks and we would abide by whatever our people would say there,” Erdogan told a joint forum

turn on their interior lights and hand over IDs for inspection. The closing of Erez also applies to journalists, aid workers and patients needing medical help in Israel. with Britain in the southern city of Antalya.

His comments came a day after he vowed to review all political and administrative ties with the EU, including a deal to curb illegal migration, but it would maintain economic relations with the bloc.

Turkey’s relations with the EU countries have soured over the past few months after Germany and the Netherlands cancelled planned campaign rallies on their territories by Turkish officials seeking to drum up support among expatriate Turks for a “yes” vote in the April referendum.

Security

Both countries cited security concerns for their decisions, but Erdogan has accused them of using “Nazi methods” and trampling on free speech, comments infuriating several EU governments and deepening the row.

“Turkey has waited at the door (of the EU) for 54 years,” he said, referring to 1963 when Ankara partnered up with the bloc’s then economic union.

Tensions between Ankara and several European capitals have been escalating ahead of the contentious April 16 referendum.

Turkish opposition members and Western allies have criticized the constitutional referendum, saying it would grant Recep Tayyip Erdogan unprecedented authority with limited checks and balances.

Earlier this month, Dutch and German authorities restricted Turkish officials from campaigning for diaspora votes, resulting in harsh criticism from Ankara.

Faqha, who was given nine life sentences for directing suicide bombing attacks against Israelis, was freed in 2011 along with more than 1,000 others as part of an exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. (AP)

Hamas vows revenge:

Thousands of Hamas supporters waving the movement’s green flag marched through the streets of Gaza Saturday for the funeral of a militant leader and high-profile former prisoner who was mysteriously shot dead, as the group’s leaders pledged retribution.

Senior Hamas member Mazen Faqha was found shot dead at the entrance of his house in Gaza City late Friday. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, said Faqha was shot four times in the head with a silenced gun and blamed Israel for “assassinating” him, but provided no proof to support the accusation.

Faqha was sentenced to nine terms of life imprisonment for directing suicide bombing attacks against Israelis. He was freed along with more than 1,000 other prisoners as part of an exchange in 2011 that released captive Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. Faqha was among dozens of West Bank residents Israel deported to Gaza or elsewhere because of the severity of their crimes. (AP)