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Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: »If Turkish representatives do not play by the rules, we have to examine the consequences«
Photo: Christophe Gateau / dpa
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) invited the Turkish embassy to an interview.
The topic is events by Turkish politicians in Germany for election campaign purposes.
"Appearances like that of a Turkish member of parliament in Neuss must not be repeated," writes Baerbock in a statement on Twitter.
»Hate and hate speech have no place in Germany.«
Baerbock "unmistakably" reminded, she writes, that foreign campaign events had to be approved.
And: »If Turkish representatives do not follow the rules of the game, we have to examine the consequences.«
On Sunday it became known that the Turkish AKP MP Mustafa Acikgöz had given a speech on January 13 in the »Yunus Emre Mosque« in Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, which is part of the »Grey Wolves« network.
In it, Acigöz called for the annihilation of Kurds, whom he referred to as the »PKK«, and of supporters of the Gülen movement, which he called »Fetö«.
"Just as we won't give them the right to live in Turkey, we won't give them that in Germany either," said the deputy.
“These two groups are very dangerous.
One is the PKK, godless enemies of religion.
The other is the Feto, a vile terrorist organization that wants to change, distort and Christianize the Muslim faith.
You must be vigilant."
Video of the speech was also circulated via Twitter.
First, the "Frankfurter Rundschau" reported on the case.
Around 1.4 million people live in Germany and are also allowed to vote in Turkey.
The last time there were discussions about campaign appearances by Turkish politicians in Germany was in 2017 before a constitutional referendum.
Several municipalities had canceled performances, mostly with reference to safety concerns.
On June 18, Turkey's 600 members of parliament and the president will be elected at the same time.
The incumbent head of state, Reccep Tayip Erdoğan, wants to stand as a candidate for the last time.
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