Do not interfere in our affairs: Erdogan

ISTANBUL, July 23, (Agencies): Germany has no right to interfere in Turkey’s domestic affairs, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, his latest broadside in a blistering row sparked by the waves of arrests under the current state of emergency.

Several German nationals are among those being held and Berlin has warned its citizens that their safety cannot be guaranteed in Turkey and that consular access is not assured in case of arrest.

Throwing away any pretence at diplomatic nuance, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel had Thursday also warned German firms against investment in Turkey and spoke of an “overhaul” of the entire relationship.

“Turkey is a social democratic state based on law and no one has the right to interfere in its internal affairs,” said Erdogan before heading off on a trip to the Gulf.

Addressing Gabriel’s comments, he said: “We (Turkey and Germany) are together in NATO. We (Turkey) are in negotiations to join the EU.

“So the strategic partnership between us is nothing new. We have been partners for a long time. No step should be taken to overshadow this partnership,” he added.

Turkey remains under a state of emergency imposed days after the July 15 failed coup which critics claim is being used to go after any opponent of Erdogan. The authorities say the emergency is needed for public security.

The latest crisis was precipitated by the order of a Turkish court to remand in custody a group of human rights activists detained on an island off Istanbul, including Amnesty International’s Turkey director Idil Eser and Berlin-based activist Peter Steudtner.

But Berlin was already furious over the jailing in February of Deniz Yucel, Turkey correspondent for Die Welt newspaper, who Erdogan has personally denounced as a “terror agent”.

Meanwhile, Turkey accuses Germany of not doing enough to deal with Kurdish militants and suspects from the failed coup who have taken refuge on its soil.

Erdogan said Ankara had passed Berlin 4,500 dossiers on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) suspects alone. Both Turkey and the EU as well as the US outlaw the PKK as a terror group.

Erdogan

Ties

Meanwhile, Turkey’s behaviour is “unacceptable” and Germany has a duty to protect its citizens and companies but also wants to maintain strong ties with Ankara, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff said on Sunday.

Relations between the NATO allies have deteriorated since Turkey arrested six rights activists, including one German, two weeks ago as part of a wider crackdown since last year’s failed coup against Erdogan.

“We want to have good relations with this big and important country but that’s only possible if Turkey is and remains a state under the rule of law,” Peter Altmaier told newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

“Turkey’s behaviour is unacceptable,” Altmaier said when asked about Turkey barring German lawmakers from visiting soldiers at a base in Turkey, the arrest of Germans and Erdogan’s recent comments on Germany. Tensions are already high between the two countries following the arrest of a Turkish-German journalist and a pullout of German troops from a Turkish air base.

Berlin wants German rights activist Peter Steudtner and journalist Deniz Yucel to be freed as there is no apparent reason for their arrests and the government is taking every opportunity to get consular access to them, to talk with the Turkish government and with Erdogan, Altmaier said.

The German government is monitoring developments in Turkey closely and will decide on sanctions if necessary, he said.

Germany has increased pressure on Turkey in the past few days, threatening measures that could hinder German investment there and saying it is reviewing Turkish applications for arms projects.

On Saturday, Gabriel sought to reassure the 3 million people in Germany of Turkish descent in a letter published in the Bild newspaper that they belonged and were not the target of changes to government policy on Turkey.

‘Hero’ T-shirt prompts wave of arrests:

Turkish police have over the last week detained at least 15 people for wearing a T-shirt with a slogan the authorities argue is a veiled message backing the alleged mastermind of last year’s failed coup.

Police across the country have been detaining people wearing T-shirts with the word “Hero” in English in white capital letters against a black background, with the slogan underneath “Heroes are Immortal”.

The authorities say the slogan is a veiled message of support for Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Islamic preacher blamed by the Turkish authorities for the July 15 failed coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The controversy erupted on July 13 when a suspect tried over an alleged plot to assassinate Erdogan on the coup night was photographed going into court wearing the white “Hero” T-shirt.

This prompted outrage on social media, with users saying it was an insult to the 249 people killed at the hands of the coup plotters. Erdogan said that coup suspects should in future wear Guantanamo-style prison jumpsuits.

According to an AFP count based on reports on the Anadolu and Dogan news agency, at least 15 people have been detained over the last week for wearing the T-shirt.

Those detained have included a relative of one of the accused over the coup who attended a trial in Ankara wearing the “Hero” T-shirt.

A waiter working in a luxury hotel in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya was arrested after witnesses saw him wearing the T-shirt while going to work, Anadolu said.

In the latest arrests Saturday, a couple were arrested in Antalya and man in the western city of Canakkale for wearing the T-shirt.