With the diplomatic row between Europe and Turkey escalating further, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan issued an unveiled threat to Europeans. “If Europe continues this way, no European in any part of the world can walk safely on the streets,” Erdogan said during a speech in Ankara, Turkey. Earlier, several cities in Germany and the Netherlands canceled public appearances by Erdogan’s ministers citing security concerns.
It is unclear if Erdogan’s statement was meant as a direct call to violence, but Erdogan supporters have a track record of resorting to intimidation and violence abroad to push their Islamist leaders’ political agenda. Earlier this month, thousands of Turkish immigrants rioted in the streets of Rotterdam after city’s mayor refused the landing rights to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Following those riots in the Netherlands, Erdogan supporters vandalised the Dutch consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
Reuters news agency reported Erdogan’s statement:
Turkey has been embroiled in a row with Germany and the Netherlands over the barring of campaign appearances by Turkish officials seeking to drum up support for an April referendum on boosting Erdogan’s powers.”If Europe continues this way, no European in any part of the world can walk safely on the streets. We, as Turkey, call on Europe to respect human rights and democracy,” Erdogan said at event for local journalists in Ankara.
Erdogan’s belligerent rhetoric is also directed at Turkish immigrants ahead of next month’s referendum that would allow Erdogan to change country’s constitution and virtually make himself ‘President for Life’ — a rule rather than an exception in Muslim majority countries. Millions of Turkish immigrants in Europe are eligible to vote in the April referendum.
Erstwhile Secular Kemalist-Turkey has turned into a base for international Jihadist groups since Erdogan’s Islamist AKP party took power 14 years ago. According to a German intelligence report leaked last August, Erdogan-ruled Turkey has “developed into a central platform of activity for Islamist groups in the Middle East.” German intelligence assessment saw clear “ideological affinity” between Erdogan Regime and terrorist groups motivated by Islamist ideology.
Erdogan recently threatened Europe with demographic warfare, declaring that Turks “are the future of Europe”. “I am calling out to my citizens, by brothers and sisters in Europe,” Erdogan said on Friday. “Have not just three but five children.”
In response to Erdogan’s fanatic Islamist war cries, German Chancellor Markel — or global saviour, as Politico likes to call her — is lamenting about the lack of diplomatic footwork coming from Ankara. Turkey is “ignoring diplomatic conventions,” Merkel complained this week.
As it was recently leaked to the German press, Merkel made a secret deal with Erdogan last year — without consulting other E.U. countries — to bring in 150,000 to 200,000 Syrian refugees to Europe from Turkey each year — in return for Erdogan’s vague promises to “stem migrant flows”. To sweeten the deal Erdogan gets a down payment of €3 billion. As a constant flow of illegal migrants from Turkey show, Erdogan has no intention of keeping his side of the bargain.
Instead of standing up to Erdogan, The E.U. and Germany are seriously negotiating visa-free travel for all Turkish citizens. A provision of Merkel-Erdogan Deal that could open the floodgates of Europe to 75 million Turkish citizens.
Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it, Spanish philosopher George Santayana wrote more than a hundred years ago. European political elite — having learned nothing from their past — are once again appeasing a tyrant; and once again hoping it will all end well.
Video: Merkel complains “Turkey ignoring diplomatic conventions”:
[Cover image courtesy EuroNews, Youtube]
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY