Turkey vows to continue holding pro-Erdogan rallies in Germany, the Netherlands
Turkey said on Saturday it would keep holding rallies in Germany and the Netherlands to urge Turks living there to back a vote to boost President Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, despite opposition from authorities in both countries.
We can go anywhere we want, meet our citizens, hold our meetings
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticised German and Dutch restrictions on such gatherings as undemocratic, and said Turkey would press on with them in the run-up to the April 16 referendum.
“None of you can prevent us,” he told a campaign event in southern Turkey. “We can go anywhere we want, meet our citizens, hold our meetings.”
The defiant Turkish comments highlight the import Erdogan places on securing the new powers, especially since a failed military coup last July, in what could turn out to be a close vote.
The disagreement has led to sharp exchanges between the Nato partners. Adding to the tensions, Germany has demanded the release of a German journalist arrested in Turkey on Monday, while Erdogan on Friday called him a “German agent”.
Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone on Saturday with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, a German government spokesman said, without providing details of the conversation. The two countries’ foreign ministers are due to meet in Berlin on Thursday.
Several members of Merkel’s coalition voiced concerns on Saturday about Turkish politicians rallying support among Germany’s 1.5 million Turkish citizens.