Crisis with Germany at hand: Erdogan bans rally in Berlin

As the countdown to the elections in Turkey begins, tensions between Germany and Turkey are heightening. In a speech in Germany, AKP deputy Mustafa Açıkgöz gave a note saying: “We will wipe out FETÖ and PKK members wherever we find them”, and this time President Erdoğan’s visit to Berlin was cancelled, which was scheduled for Friday.

The German side openly stated that this would be electoral propaganda for the elections in Turkey and stated that they did not want the visit. Although presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın promised a visit according to the rules laid down by Germany in 2017, no agreement could be reached. Immediately afterwards, Erdogan canceled his visit to Berlin.

Erdogan last met German Chancellor Scholz at the G20 Summit in Indonesia in November.

BERLIN: AN ELECTORAL MOVEMENT

Erdogan’s initiative, which plans to hold a working meeting with Prime Minister Scholz in Berlin, was perceived by Germany as a job “for the elections scheduled for May 14 in Turkey.”

The issue was discussed between Scholz’s foreign policy adviser Jens Plötner and Erdoğan’s adviser İbrahim Kalın. However, no agreement could be reached on the content and time of the meeting.

The German side stressed that if the visit goes ahead, AKP MP Mustafa Açıkgöz will openly criticize his speeches and wander around Germany as if on an election campaign. AKP did not agree to this.

Turkish citizens living in Germany celebrated the electoral victory of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the presidential election and the People’s Alliance in the general election with a convoy of vehicles that formed in Berlin.

GUARANTEE OF COMPLIANCE WITH POLITICAL PROHIBITIONS…

Paying special attention to the votes coming from Germany, the AKP guaranteed that the rules concerning the election campaigns of politicians coming from outside the EU member states, determined by Germany in 2017, would be followed. However, Germany did not accept this.

In the 2017 referendum, many parties, especially Erdogan and AKP, held rallies and meetings in Germany to win the vote of Turkish voters in Germany.

There were also political differences between the Turks in Germany. Thereupon, Germany banned “members of parties from non-EU countries from holding rallies and political rallies three months before the elections.” Except for these three months, it was decided to get permission from Germany.

IT WAS 65 PERCENT IN THE LAST ELECTIONS

According to this rule, Erdogan was not allowed to come… In the last elections, Erdogan received 65 percent of the votes of the Turks in Germany. It is claimed that a similar ban will also apply to opposition parties.