Election posters for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are hung up in Nuremberg.
Critics are outraged because the city has granted the permit.
Nuremberg - In Turkey's elections on May 14, people will elect a new parliament and a new president.
Until May 9th, Turks abroad can also vote in Germany in the general consulates.
The election campaign has long been underway, especially in German cities.
There, the supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been fighting for their leader for months.
While the AKP lobby organization UID (Union International Democrats) primarily advertised in the mosques of the Islamic associations Ditib and IGMG (Milli Görüs), election posters can now also be seen in Nuremberg.
"Due to the election campaign, 25 posters outside the old town were approved as part of a special use from April 22 to May 5," the city administration announced on Twitter.
The city of Nuremberg allows advertising for a dictator to be advertised on German streets.
Would you give the same permission for posters of Putin @nuernberg_de?
Which dedicated journalist writes about this scandal & who will stop this nonsense?
https://t.co/kHqpXUF1w3 pic.twitter.com/GpRLl5IpRQ
— Burak Copur (@profcopur) April 30, 2023
Approval is a mockery of all victims of the Erdogan regime
Critics of the Turkish head of state and his AKP are outraged.
"In view of the joint responsibility of the AKP for the 50,000 victims of the earthquake and Erdogan's devastating human rights record, I am not the only one who finds such a decision by the administration cynical and highly ignorant," said Essen-based political scientist and Turkey expert Burak Çopur.
"In addition, it is morally highly reprehensible and a mockery of all victims of the Erdogan regime to see his likeness constantly on the streets of Nuremberg."
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The election campaigns for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have also been going on in Germany for months.
© Burhan Ozbilici/dpa
Turkey elections 2023 in Germany: election posters from Putin are also allowed
In an interview with our editors, Çopur asked whether Mayor Marcus König (CSU) would also support election posters of Russian President Vladimir Putin being hung up in his city?
"Hardly as a sincere Christian Democrat," says Çopur.
In an open letter to the city's mayor, the political scientist calls for the posters to be taken down - "in the interests of the city's good reputation".
After all, such a poster campaign endangers the peaceful coexistence of cultures.
"König is thus indirectly taking sides on the side of a highly aggressive and anti-Christian and anti-European dictatorship".
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: This is the President of Türkiye
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: This is the President of Türkiye
Hundreds of AKP MPs on campaign tour in Germany
Over the past few months, over 100 MPs and mayors of the AKP have come to Germany to campaign.
In January, a member of parliament from the Turkish government party called for the annihilation of supporters of the PKK and Gülen movement in a Gray Wolves mosque in Neuss.
A diplomatic scandal then ensued.
The Turkish ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry.
The Federal Foreign Office had made it clear that hate and hate speech had no place in Germany.
Erdogan's visit to Germany also had to be canceled because Chancellor Olaf Scholz apparently insisted on raising the issue at the joint press conference.
However, the Turkish side did not want to admit this weakness.
In the current polls for Turkey's elections, Erdogan is behind challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
That is why every vote is important for the Turkish President.
In the event of a defeat, Erdogan faces numerous charges, including corruption and support for terrorist organizations in Syria, for example.
List of rubrics: © Burhan Ozbilici/dpa