The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday condemned as a “double standard” a decision by Germany to allow a rally by the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Cologne, having previously prevented Turkish ruling party politicians from campaigning there.
“This two-faced approach, which we condemn strongly, cannot be reconciled with democracy, the fight against terrorism and expectations of a normalization in Turkish-German relations,” the ministry said in a statement.
Germany, home to about 3 million people of Turkish origin, has said it will not allow foreign politicians to campaign on its territory ahead of Turkey’s June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Police in Cologne barred two HDP lawmakers from speaking at the demonstration out of fear that the politicians might use the opportunity to campaign for the elections, the Rheinische Post reported.
Ahmet Yildirim and Tugba Hezer had hoped to speak at the rally held by the city’s Kurds to protest against Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian conflict, the paper said.
The election would see the switch to a powerful executive presidential system that was narrowly approved in a referendum last year.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who heads a right-wing coalition opposed to Turkey joining the EU, last month also said that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan would be barred from “trying to exploit” Europe’s Turkish communities.
Thousands of expatriate Turks from Germany, the Netherlands and Austria and across the Balkans attended a rally held by Erdogan last week in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During his speech, Erdogan took a swipe at European countries that refused to let him campaign on their territory.
Ahead of last year’s referendum, Turkish ministers traveled to countries with large Turkish communities — including Germany and the Netherlands — to urge support for the change, but were stopped from campaigning by authorities citing security fears.
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