Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday said nobody could stop him from speaking at referendum rallies in Germany, despite a number of local authorities canceling events, Turkish media reported.
“They try to cancel all our programs by putting pressure on them in an unprecedented way. It is an entirely repressive system,” Çavuşoğlu told Turkish daily Hürriyet.He added: “In Hamburg, they attempted to cancel the registration of the wedding hall [where he was due to speak this week]. But I’ll go. Nobody can stop me.”
The minister will visit Germany on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and attend a tourism fair.
But he also plans to attend a rally of Turkish citizens in Hamburg ahead of an April 16 referendum on constitutional changes that would give greater powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
A visit by Çavuşoğlu to Hamburg scheduled for Tuesday was canceled by local authorities on Monday. It’s unclear if he will move the rally to another city or venue.
Appearances by Turkish ministers ahead of the referendum have caused controversy in several EU countries, with national governments speaking out against election campaign interference.
Appearances by Turkish ministers ahead of the referendum have caused controversy in several EU countries, with national governments speaking out against election campaign interference.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said he had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel by phone and they agreed that the two foreign ministries would coordinate events to avoid problems.
source:politico
source:politico
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