PM Yıldırım blasts Germany over ‘two-faced’ terror stance

Sevil Erkuş - ANKARA

AFP photo

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has once again slammed Germany over its alleged “two-faced” stance on terrorism issues.

“The EU is silent when it comes to terror. Terrorist groups have been able to find a venue for propaganda in Europe,” Yıldırım said in his weekly address to deputies at parliament on Nov. 8. 

Recalling that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had released a video conference with Cemil Bayık, one of the PKK’s senior leaders, in Germany, Yıldırım noted that the German authorities had previously not allowed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to appear by video conference. 

On the same day, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also blasted Germany for allowing the PKK, the far-leftist DHKP-C, and the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) to “operate on German soil with impunity.”

He claimed that Berlin had never extradited a single member of the PKK, although Ankara has demanded 4,000 members of the group. 

“The DHKP-C and the PKK are carrying out activities in Germany, which has supported them because they are against Turkey. Now Germany also embraces FETÖ. Germany is the country that supports terrorist organizations against Turkey the most,” Çavuşoğlu said.
 
He also confirmed media reports that he did not respond to two phone calls from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, saying he was “busy” and he “would respond when convenient.” 

“Germany thinks it is a first class country, a first-class democracy, and that Turkey is second-class. We want them to treat us as equal partners,” Çavuşoğlu said. 

Ties between Ankara and Berlin have been particularly strained since the detention of journalists and executives of Turkish daily Cumhuriyet newspaper. 

President Erdoğan lashed out at German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Nov. 3, claiming that Germany “lends support to terrorist organizations.” 

“You are aiding terror! That terror will hit you like a boomerang. We have no expectations from you, but you will be remembered by history for harboring terror,” Erdoğan said.