Germany blocks Erdogan rally during G20 summit in Hamburg
(DW) – Turkish President Erdogan has been denied a request to hold a rally in front of his supporters in Germany on the sidelines of the G20 summit. German-Turkish relations have sunk from bad to worse over the past year.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel confirmed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request to address Turkish citizens living in Germany on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg next week would be rejected.
“We are telling Turkey that we are convinced that such an appearance in Germany is not possible,” he said, citing provisions in Germany’s constitution as justification.
“Our country is an open country, but we do not have the intention to allow that other countries’ domestic conflicts be imported into our population,” Gabriel said, who also serves as deputy to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Gabriel described the proposal as “not a good idea,” saying that given the tensions between Germany and Turkey “the political climate” is not ripe for Erdogan to hold a political rally addressing Turks.
“The federal government is of the same opinion on this topic,” Gabriel said, hinting that Merkel is in agreement.
In reaction to the decision, Turkey’s foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said in a statement that it was regrettable that some politicians in Germany are making unacceptable comments with domestic political calculations.
A strained relationship
Erdogan will attend the G20 summit in Hamburg next week – his first visit to Germany since he and several of his ministers accused Germany and other European countries of “Nazi-like” practices for blocking campaigning for a key constitutional referendum that granted him sweeping presidential powers in April.
In July, Turkey will mark one year since the failed coup attempt, which exacerbated an already far-reaching crackdown against critics of the government, and has led foreign goverments to distance themselves from Turkey.
Blow after blow
German-Turkish relations have gone from bad to worse over the past year, making the issue a political football ahead of national elections in Germany in September.
Earlier, the leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), Martin Schulz, told German daily “Bild” any Erdogan rally should be banned over concerns about the authoritarian nature of his government.
“Foreign politicians who trample on our values when at home must not be allowed a stage for speeches in Germany,” said Schulz, whose SPD is trailing behind Merkel’s CDU in the polls. “I don’t want Mr Erdogan, who jails opposition politicians and journalists in Turkey, to hold big rallies in Germany.”
Adding to tensions, Germany granted asylum to military officers and other diplomatic passport holders who Ankara accuses of being involved in last July’s failed coup attempt.
Relations have also been hit by the deterioration of democracy and human rights in Turkey as well as the continued arrest of two German-Turkish journalists on trumped up “terrorism” charges.