Turkey Summons German Ambassador over Refusal to Show Erdogan Address

Local Editor

Turkey summoned the German ambassador in Ankara to explain restrictions imposed by the authorities in Germany on a pro-President Erdogan protest in Cologne, DPA International reports.

The event in the western German city drew thousands of people, who defended Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's policies following a failed coup attempt. Turkey's Western allies criticize an ongoing crackdown on supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is suspected by Turkey of masterminding the deadly coup.

Several Turkish officials attended the Cologne rally. The organizers wanted to live stream an address by Erdogan on a big screen, but local authorities prohibited it, citing security concerns.

Turkey's deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmuş, said the ban on Erdogan's speech was "unacceptable" and a "double standard."

Ambassador Martin Erdmann was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry later in the day to discuss the ban of the live-stream address, news agency DPA reported citing informed sources.

Relations between Turkey and Germany remain strained after the German parliament, the Bundestag, passed a resolution last month acknowledging the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman republic in 1915-16 as genocide of Armenian people.

Erdmann had reportedly been given the cold shoulder since the vote and been obstructed by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and other branches of the government.

Turkey's cooperation is crucial for the EU's plan to tackle the refugee crisis, which hit Europe last year. The unprecedented inflow of refugees, predominantly from Syria and Afghanistan, fueled sympathies for right-wing parties throughout the EU.

The refugee deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back irregular asylum seekers from Greece in exchange for visa-free travel, political preferences and financial aid, has been slow in implementation. Ankara threatens to withdraw from the agreement, unless the EU delivers on the visa promise by October. Brussels is reluctant due to harsh anti-terrorism laws in Turkey, which Ankara will not amend.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team