Erdogan supporters plan rally in Germany tomorrow
BERLIN: Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plan to rally in the German city of Cologne on Sunday, as tensions over Turkey’s failed coup have put authorities on edge.
Since the attempted power grab on the night of July 15, skirmishes have broken out between backers and opponents of Erdogan in Germany, home to Turkey’s biggest overseas diaspora.
Pro-Erdogan activists have stormed locations popular with followers of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the putsch, while critics of the Turkish president have also complained of abuse and threats against them on social media.
On Sunday, up to 30,000 people are expected to answer a call to take to the streets issued by a pro-Erdogan group, the Union of European-Turkish Democrats (UETD), according to police.
The North-Rhine Westphalia state, where Cologne is located, is home to about one third of Germany’s three-million strong Turkish community. Ahead of the march, security services have sought to head-off any potential clashes between pro- and antiErdogan groups.
Cologne’s police chief Juergen Mathies warned: “One thing I want to make clear is that we will intervene against any kind of violence quickly, decisively and forcefully.” Some 2,000 officers will be deployed to keep the peace, including several Turkish speakers.
The tension comes at a time when relations between Germany and Turkey are already strained over the German Parliament’s recent decision to brand the World War I-era Armenian massacre by Ottoman forces a genocide.
German politicians led by Chancellor Angela Merkel have issued strongly worded statements against Erdogan’s crackdown following the putsch with more than 16,000 soldiers, police, judges, prosecutors and journalists detained.