Germany faces mass protests over welcome for Erdogan

GERMANY was bracing last night for similar protests that marked Donald Trump’s visit to the UK as Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, flew into Berlin.

Up to 20,000 people are expected to take to the streets of Berlin today to send a message to him under the banner “Erdogan Not Welcome”.

Although the demonstration’s organisers have kept their plans under wraps, they say there will be “creative forms of protest” to rival London’s giant inflatable baby Trump.

“It’s about sending a message that a leader who is crushing democracy in his country, who is an opponent of free speech, who is against minority rights, women’s rights and LGBT rights, is not an appropriate partner for Germany,” said Jakob Schumann, a spokesman for the protesters.

Mr Erdogan’s visit is whipping up considerable anger in Germany. He is being accorded all the pomp and ceremony of a state visit less than two years after he publicly accused Angela Merkel of “Nazi practices”. According to opinion polls, as many as 70 per cent of Germans are against the visit.

Mr Erdogan urged Berlin to designate as a terrorist organisation the movement of Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey blames for a 2016 coup attempt. His call, published in a newspaper article yesterday, highlighted the gulf Mr Erdogan must bridge if he is to repair strained political and commercial ties.

Many Germans are wondering why Mrs Merkel is going out of her way to roll out the red carpet while several Germans are still being held in Turkish prisons as part of the Erdogan regime’s crackdown on opposition.

The chancellor’s approach stands in stark contrast with that of Mr Trump, who has imposed economic sanctions on Turkey over its refusal to release an imprisoned American pastor.

Amid fears the hardline US policy is pushing Turkey ever closer into the arms of Vladimir Putin, Mrs Merkel has been quietly insistent that Germany has more to gain by keeping the lines of communication with Turkey open.

After a state banquet and his meeting with Mrs Merkel in Berlin, Mr Erdogan plans to travel to Cologne to open a Turkish-funded mosque there.