Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Germany’s move to cancel public appearances by two of his ministers were akin to Nazi practices.
Germany’s decision has “nothing to do with democracy,” Erdogan said at an event in Istanbul yesterday, state news agency Anadolu reported. “Recent practices are no different from the Nazi ones of the past.” The German government press office didn’t immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
Ties between Germany and Turkey were strained after Ankara jailed a German-Turkish reporter, whom Erdogan described as a spy. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, in comments published before the Nazi slur, said the two countries’ ties should be on “the basis of friendship,” according to a column he wrote for Bild am Sonntag.
On Mar. 2, the municipality of Gaggenau in southwest Germany revoked its permission for Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag’s meeting, citing concerns of overcrowding. Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci’s planned address to a Turkish community in the western city of Cologne was also canceled by local authorities over security concerns.
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