Attempts to flout the elections ban with the Solingen excuse

Çavuşoğlu is gioing to visit Germany using the anniversary of the Solingen Massacre as an excuse, despite the ban on politicians from Turkey holding rallies or meetings before the snap elections.

A crisis had broken out between the Merkel-led German government and the Erdoğan regime before the referendum vote held in Turkey on April 16, 2017, and a similar crisis is now emerging before the snap elections to be held on June 24.

After the AKP-MHP announced the elections for June 24, several statements came back to back from Germany that election rallies would not be permitted. Referendum rallies AKP’s ministers wished to hold last year had been banned, and a law had been passed to prevent rallies and meetings by the Erdoğan regime. German government officials point out this law and repeatedly state that Erdoğan regime propaganda will not be permitted. President Frank Steinmeier postponed his invitation to Erdoğan to prevent a pre-election spectacle, while Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is planning to visit Germany, using the ceremony to be held on May 29 for the 25th anniversary of the Solingen Massacre. This high level participation from Turkey unlike previous years has been called an attempt to flout the elections ban in Germany.

MAAS GREENLIGHTS ÇAVUŞOĞLU

Heiko Maas, who frequently gives warm messages to the Erdoğan regime like the former Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel did, has greenlighted Çavuşoğlu’s visit. The social democrat politician backpedalled on his previous statement that stressed the ban against rallies and said, “This is not an elections activity, it is a commemoration event held regularly. People who lost their lives in a gruesome incident are remembered there.”

Meanwhile opposition parties point out that the Merkel government should be more strict in the implementation of the elections bans against Turkish politicians in the person of the Erdoğan regime, and demand Çavuşoğlu not be allowed in the country. The Greens and Die Linke think Çavuşoğlu will be making propaganda for the Erdoğan regime, using Solingen as an excuse.

Former Greens leader Cem Özdemir said: “As long as the Erdoğan government prevents the opposition in Turkey from working and campaigning freely, they should not be allowed into Germany.” Die Linke Group Deputy Chairperson Sevim Dağdelen protested the government: “It is shameful that a commemoration event is used as elections propaganda.”

NRW MINISTER PRESIDENT: “IT WON’T TURN INTO A CAMPAIGN EVENT”

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Minister President Armin Laschet responded to the opposition’s reaction. Laschet, a member of Chancellor Merkel’s party CDU, said: “We will remember the victims who lost their lives in Soligen all together, we will not let this turn into a campaign event.”

On May 29, 1993, neo-nazis had set fire on a building where immigrants from Turkey lived, and five people from the same family lost their lives in the fire. The incident had shaken Germany, and 4 right wing radicals had been sentenced to prison for attempted murder.

ÇAVUŞOĞLU ALSO FLOUTED THE BAN ON APRIL 16

Before the April 16 constitutional amendment referendum, several European countries had allowed AKP politicians to hold rallies in their countries. Bans against rallies were led by countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and Belgium. The Erdoğan regime had experienced a great crisis with Europe at the time, and the Netherlands had deported AKP’s Minister of the Family Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya.

Turkish President Erdoğan had accused European countries of “implementing Nazi practices” due to the bans. Çavuşoğlu had given a campaign speech to AKP members from the balcony of the Turkish consulate in Hamburg when he was visiting Germany with the excuse to meet with Sigmar Gabriel.