Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused Germany on Sunday of “fascist actions” reminiscent of Nazi times in a growing row over the cancellation of political rallies aimed at drumming up support for him among the 1.5 million Turks living in Germany, reports Reuters.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office had no immediate comment on the remarks but the deputy leader of her Christian Democratic Union party said the Turkish president was “reacting like a wilful child that cannot have his way”.
German authorities withdrew permission last week for two rallies by Turkish citizens in German cities, at which Turkish ministers were to urge a “Yes” vote in a referendum next month on granting Erdogan sweeping new presidential powers.
The row has dragged relations between the two NATO partners to a new low. At the same time, public outrage is mounting in Germany over Ankara’s arrest of a Turkish-German journalist.
“Germany, you have no relation whatsoever to democracy and you should know that your current actions are no different to those of the Nazi period,” Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul. “When we say that, they get disturbed. Why are you disturbed?”
Erdogan says he needs the proposed new powers to tackle Kurdish rebels, Islamist militants and other political enemies in a land with a history of unstable coalition governments. Critics argue a “yes” vote in the April 16 vote would abolish checks and balances already eroded over 15 years of his rule.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, who had one meeting canceled last week, said he would speak at rallies with Turkish citizens in the cities of Leverkusen and Cologne on Sunday.
Erdogan’s harsh words bring to the foreign political arena the heated climate in Turkey since a failed army attempt to topple the president in July. Mass arrests and dismissals in professions from the military to academia, journalism to science, have been heavily criticized in the West.
“We will talk about Germany’s actions in the international arena and we will put them to shame in the eyes of the world,” Erdogan said.
“We don’t want to see their fascist actions,” Erdogan he added. “We thought that era was in the past, but apparently it isn’t.”
