Spat between Turkey and Germany grows
Turkey accused Germany on Friday of scandalous behaviour in cancelling rallies of Turkish citizens in two German towns due to be addressed by Turkish ministers, and said Berlin was providing “a shelter” for people committing crimes against Turkey.
The comments by justice minister Bekir Bozdag, who was scheduled to address a meeting in the southwestern town of Gaggenau until it was cancelled on Thursday, reflected a broader souring of relations between the two NATO allies.
“Let them look back at their history,” he said in a speech. “We see the old illnesses flaring up. They should busy themselves with treating those illnesses.”
Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Germany must “learn how to behave” if it wanted to maintain relations.
The Gaggenau meeting would have been part of efforts to garner support among Germany’s 1.5 million Turkish citizens for an April referendum on expanding presidential powers, perhaps Erdogan’s chief political priority.
Erdogan’s relations with Germany have worsened markedly, especially since a July attempt to topple him. He accused West European countries of failing to condemn the putsch quickly or strongly enough. West European countries have expressed concern about his crackdown on coup suspects across Turkish society.