ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will lead a rally in the German city of Cologne next month despite German politicians vehemently opposing the idea.
According to German tabloid Bild, President Erdogan will call Turkish-Germans to gather at a rally in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW), as Turkey nears a referendum for constitutional changes.
Apparently uneasy with Erdogan’s visit, German politicians expressed their extreme discontent over the planned rally.
NRW Interior Minister Ralf Jager told German newspaper Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger that the NRW has already suggested to the Federal Government that the rally be prevented.
A similar incident took place in the country at a Turkish rally in Cologne following the July 15 coup attempt.
Tens of thousands of Turks living in Germany gathered in the city to show solidarity with their compatriots back home, condemning the July 15 coup attempt perpetrated by the Gulenist Terror Group (FETO).
Germany’s highest court had earlier decided to prevent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from addressing the rally.
Earlier, on Sept. 3, 2011, German authorities had allowed senior PKK commander Murat Karayılan to address a crowd at a culture festival.
The registered 2.3 million Turkish voters living abroad will be able to cast their votes in 57 countries and at Turkey’s 119 foreign missions and 32 customs stations.
With an estimated 3 million people, the largest Turkish community abroad is based in Germany.
While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) support the constitutional changes, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and pro-PKK Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) oppose it.
