BERLIN, GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Monday that Germany could ban future campaign events by Turkish politicians on its soil unless Ankara stops “Nazi” jibes aimed at Berlin.
Turkey and the European Union — especially its top economy Germany, with its large Turkish diaspora — are locked in a bitter dispute as tensions rise ahead of a April 16 referendum on expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers.
Erdogan at the weekend accused Merkel of using “Nazi measures” after local and state authorities in Germany had refused to allow several Turkish ministers to campaign for a ‘yes’ vote there.
Merkel stressed that such insults must stop — “no ifs, no buts” — and that Germany reserved the right to “take all necessary measures, including reviewing the permissions” for campaign events it had already granted.
A stern-faced Merkel said such comments were “breaking every taboo, without consideration for the suffering of those who were persecuted and murdered” by the Nazis.
Raising the issue at the start of a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, she stressed that “appearances by Turkish politicians here can only take place on the basis of the principles of German constitutional law”.
A German foreign ministry spokesman earlier also condemned the insults but indicated that Berlin had no interest in entering a spiral of mutual provocations and insults.
“Who would really benefit from it if we paid back in kind, if we answered using the same language as the Turkish president,” said the ministry spokesman, Martin Schaefer.
“It benefits mostly the Turkish president who… with threats, insults and more is seeking majorities of Turkish citizens in Turkey and also… in Germany for the constitutional referendum of April 16.”—Agencies
