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Erdogan adopts Baghdadi as poster child for naysayers

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By Pinar Tremblay,

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to rev the engine of his campaign supporting constitutional amendments. However, what the effort really needs is a solid steering alignment. It’s all over the road.

The world according to Erdogan is full of villains conspiring against him, some perhaps real, some maybe imagined: Gulenists, Kurds, the Islamic State (IS), the media, the United Nations, Europe and even the pope.

If the constitutional amendments are approved in an April 16 referendum, the president’s temporary powers under emergency law could become permanent. This would eliminate many of the checks and balances on the presidency, do away with the role of the prime minister and allow the president to skirt parliamentary and Cabinet approval and pass laws by decree.

Various posters have appeared supporting the changes to the constitution. On Feb. 12, Ankara’s colorful and longtime mayor, Melih Gokcek (a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP), tweeted “Is there anyone who opposes this?” over the image of a poster that reads “The decision is yours.” On the left-hand side of the poster, along with the Turkish flag displaying its crescent and star, are the images of Erdogan, the prime minister and the chairman of the Nationalist Action Party. Above them appears the word “Yes.”

On the right-hand side are the naysayers: the imprisoned chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, along with the leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. In the forefront is the alleged culprit of the July 15 coup attempt and Erdogan’s nemesis, Fethullah Gulen. But most interesting, perhaps, is the face lurking in the back. Behind the left-wing political parties’ representatives, under the word “Daesh” (IS), is a photo of IS’ leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Apparently Baghdadi will be upset if the amendments are approved.

A different version of this poster also has become popular on social media: The left-side images are the same but instead of “Yes,” the poster reads “Crescent.” On the right side, the word “Cross” replaces “No” and underneath is an image of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan. At the bottom, the poster reads, “If you say ‘yes,’ the crescent will win, if you say ‘no,’ the cross will.”

Erdogan has been repeating the slogan “The battle of cross against the crescent has started” during his rallies, blaming mostly Europe for initiating this “crusade.” He has also made several accusations that those who oppose the amendments are aligned with terrorists. Mostly, Erdogan’s focus has been on the Gulen movement and the Kurds — so how did Baghdadi get pulled into the picture of “crusaders”?

A few intriguing events skittering in the background could possibly explain why such wild and inconsistent claims are being made to generate support for a yes vote.

As Al-Monitor explains, the latest opinion polls predict a possible loss for Erdogan. In this rather confused “yes” campaign, Baghdadi’s face is not the only mind-boggling image. For example, for days, mainstream Turkish media have been sharing images of Pope Francis speaking before EU leaders observing the anniversary of the EU’s formation March 25. Erdogan was not pleased with this meeting. He said, “The crusader alliance finally showed its face. Since when is the pope a part of the EU?” Erdogan then went on to allege that European countries support terrorism and suggested that the weapons they provide to such organizations will be turned around on them.

The AKP’s rather populist and incoherent terror rhetoric is an effort to preempt a possible backlash from different Western countries accusing Turkey of supporting illicit networks directly or indirectly. News reports from all over the world showing Erdogan’s loss of control over different state institutions have reached a scary point. Foremost, despite all efforts, the AKP has failed to convince the West that the Gulen movement is a terror organization.

While Erdogan and the AKP are busy labeling their critics terrorists and claiming to be on the hunt for PKK members, IS and the Gulen movement globally, news is popping up that possibly links the AKP and its agencies to terrorist activities.

For example, Muhammed Murteca, the head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in Gaza, was taken into custody in mid-February. On March 21, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon announced Murteca’s arrest and accused TIKA of funneling international aid to terrorists, particularly to Hamas, with the help of a Turkish “terror” nongovernmental organization, the International Humanitarian Fund (IHH). The IHH organized the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010. Nahshon was clear that Turkey was a victim in this alleged plot, not a culprit. The AKP-aligned media did not prioritize the arrest in its coverage.

TIKA is a government-funded agency that operates under the prime minister’s office. On March 21, TIKA posted a tweet about the arrest, explaining that organizers have sought information from Israeli authorities. One senior bureaucrat told Al-Monitor, “We do not endorse any violent activities. If this Palestinian national [Murteca] has been corrupted by terrorist groups and he misused his authority, that is not about TIKA or Turkey, it is his individual crime.”

Another case is from Albania. In January, a female teacher was arrested for allegedly disseminating pro-IS propaganda to her students. Although Turkish media did not report the details, Sitki Ozcan from Zaman Amerika tweeted, “The school at which IS propaganda took place was built by the Turkish government. Erdogan attended the opening ceremony through videoconference.” The tweet also showed TIKA’s Albania branch proudly announcing the ceremony June 7. Ozcan also mentioned that Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) frequently visited the school.

Indeed, Diyanet is under scrutiny elsewhere in Europe as well.

A March 27 Foreign Policy article with the headline “Erdogan’s International Network of Muslim Cleric Spies,” says German authorities “charged 16 clerics with illegal ‘secret service collaboration’ and searched mosques and apartments, confiscating computers and reams of paperwork.” On April 15, Al-Monitor was one of the first international media outlets to raise a red flag about Diyanet acting as Erdogan’s proxy all around the world with the mission of collecting and reporting intelligence to the prime minister’s office directly.

After the July 15 coup attempt, these activities intensified on multiple levels. Some 300 imams serving in Europe were called back to Turkey on the suspicion of being Gulenists. Several did not return, and two of them made the news March 24 for seeking asylum in Germany. Erdogan’s words antagonizing Europeans, and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization’s amateurish tracking of Gulen members in Europe have put Turkish-origin Europeans in a difficult spot — so much so that even some imams in Europe have spoken out against Erdogan’s angry outbursts.

Turkey’s alleged links with armed nonstate actors and networks remain ambiguous. Yet the arrest of Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab and the vice president of state-owned Halkbank for violating US-led sanctions against Iran indicate that financial issues are crucial. Facing challenges with narcotics, arms and human smuggling, Turkey has now also come under scrutiny for alleged money laundering through the porous Syria-Iraq border.

It seems whatever Erdogan touches is backfiring right before the referendum. The promises of visa-free travel to the EU, along with a quick and swift victory in Syria, have all ended up as major fiascos.

Finally, the referendum campaign slogans for the “yes” campaign tell a sad story. After the dismal failure of “The world is bigger than five” campaign (criticizing permanent members of the UN Security Council), now the new slogan is “Turkey is bigger than Turkey.” The video shows a handful of countries Erdogan has not yet picked a fight with — such as Pakistan and Turkic republics.

Another acerbic slogan for the yes camp says “Stamp the paper [“yes”] as if you are stamping on a foreigner.” Erdogan and his immediate circle are desperate to win 51% of the vote for the referendum’s amendments, and they seem ready to do whatever it takes. So far, they have found the world’s Erdoganophobia to be a good currency for mobilizing their base, while on the global scene their ambiguous relationships with different Islamist groups are surfacing. But for now, Baghdadi’s image remains solidly against the amendments.

What’s behind Erdogan’s recent angry outbursts?

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, March 19, 2017. (photo by REUTERS/Murad Sezer)

AUTHOR: Pinar Tremblay,

What’s behind the embarrassing shenanigans of the Justice and Development Party (AKP)? What’s the reason for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s angry outbursts?

On March 22, just a few hours before the London terror attack, Erdogan appeared on live television and harshly criticized the West. He said, “Turkey is not a country you can pull and push around, not a country whose pride you can play with and turn its ministers away from the border. [It’s] not a country whose citizens you can drag on the ground. These developments are carefully followed around the world. If Europe continues this way, no European in any part of the world can walk safely on the streets. If you open this route, you [the West] will suffer the most.”

Yet when Reuters tweeted Erdogan’s statement after the attack, the pro-AKP newspaper Yeni Akit expressed its outrage and claimed that Reuters was insinuating that Erdogan was responsible for the attack.

This was just the latest mind-boggling and erratic act from the AKP and its ultranationalist coalition, which continues to rage against the West, in particular the European Union. Al-Monitor has reported on the details of the intense row between Turkey and the Netherlands and Germany.

In Turkey, the popular images and news coverage surrounding the conflict with the Netherlands and Germany have been out of control. For example, 40 cows were sent back to the Netherlands in protest, and young men have posed with sharp knives “murdering” tulips and squeezing oranges. Out of this public outrage, some comical images also surfaced, like protesters burning the French, not Dutch, flag. A prankster called a police station in Rotterdam, New York, rather than the Netherlands, and trolls mistakenly tweeted threats to French President Francois Hollande. Young men in Gumushane province even greeted the Turkish prime minister on horseback carrying a sign that read: “Dear prime minister, allow us to ride our horses upon the Netherlands.”

Turkish Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, who was deported from the Netherlands, has repeated her story to the Turkish public, adding details to it with every telling. She complained that during her four-hour wait outside the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam, the Dutch authorities did not even give her water, only to later claim that she had turned down the police officers’ offer of tea.

She said the events of the night made her relive the July 15 coup attempt. She was willing to die at the border had Erdogan not asked her to come back. Social media users ridiculed Kaya’s embellishments, which included her claim that she heard the Dutch police loading their guns. Even if Kaya’s statements are accurate, most of the Turkish public remains skeptical, given their previous experiences with the pro-government media’s manufactured grievances, in particular their bogus report of a secular group attacking a headscarf-wearing mother during the 2013 Gezi protests.

Kaya’s increasingly alarming story of being victimized by Dutch police was backed by Erdogan’s blustering and relentless EU-bashing. Erdogan suggested that Turks in Europe should have at least three to five babies, as they are the future of Europe. He also offered legal assistance to Muslim women in Europe.

Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu even directed threats to the EU that they may end the refugee deal. This threat even attracted the attention of the United States. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter tweeted, “Turkey’s Erdogan threatening to send Europe 15K refugees a month. So even Muslims consider Muslim migrants a threat.”

These are just a few of the scandalous events from the past 10 days, and besides being foreign policy disasters, they are also embarrassing moments for Turks and Turkophiles everywhere. Why won’t Erdogan stop embarrassing his country? The most frequently repeated explanation is that these ultranationalistic blunders are intended for domestic consumption and to sway undecided voters in the upcoming referendum. Erdogan’s efforts to destroy ties with the West are more about telling the AKP’s base to fall in line rather than winning over swing voters. This means Erdogan is concerned that significant portions of the AKP base will vote “no” in the referendum and that they will not be able to effectively guarantee his desired executive presidency.

The initial polls are not promising for the referendum’s “yes” camp. During the preliminary vote on the referendum in parliament in January, AKP members were forced to display their “yes” votes, even though the constitution mandated a secret ballot. On April 16, can Erdogan trust his own parliamentarians to vote “yes” and to mobilize their own constituents to fall in line?

Erdogan rushed into the referendum, hoping to ride the wave of national unity that overtook the public following the July 15 coup attempt. In view of the AKP and the Nationalist Action Party’s (MHP) number of supporters, Erdogan and his men initially envisioned the referendum passing with at least 60% approval. It has been an open secret in Ankara that more than 100 AKP lawmakers would vote “no” on the referendum. Several senior bureaucrats fear that in the institutional restructuring of the presidency they will lose their positions.

So far, the AKP has not been able to tackle the political wing of the Gulen movement. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hastily passed the buck to the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), saying in an interview with the Turkish press: “I asked the MIT to tell me the names of lawmakers and politicians who are members of the organization. They said there is no such thing. If they are hiding information from me, they will pay the price.” Yet not many in Turkey were convinced that this was the MIT’s complete answer on the matter. The MIT is known for its detailed reporting on even minor issues. Plus, Ankara corridors, as well as social media, have been rocked by traces of AKP infighting, which has seen senior members accuse each other of being CIA spies or Gulen movement members.

Disarray inside the AKP has been so intense that Erdogan had to announce that, once the amendments are accepted on April 16, he would immediately become the leader of the party and that he would not wait until 2019 to assume the party leadership. This measure did not generate enough support among the AKP. So on March 20, Yildirim gathered former AKP ministers to join the campaign to rally for a “yes” vote. The former ministers issued serious criticisms about the amendments and the timing of the referendum, and they urged the government to soften its rhetoric and reassess the cost of an alliance with the MHP.

Yet as Yildirim told the former AKP ministers, the referendum on amending 18 articles of the constitution has now evolved into a vote of confidence for Erdogan. Despite all of Erdogan’s pleas, AKP elites fear that the proposed presidential system will only decrease their already dwindling administrative powers and increase the arbitrariness of the system. For most of them, the proposed change is more risky than the status quo. Erdogan and his immediate circle know this well, so the battle now is to coerce these elites to fall in line. One way is to make sure there is nowhere to run. Hence, Erdogan’s strategy is that offense is the best defense. Erdogan, by using erratic rhetoric, is observing who will be a partner in sullying Turkey’s reputation. So far, AKP elites are competing to prove their loyalty. For example, on March 20, Bulent Tufenkci, the customs and trade minister, told the press that if the referendum doesn’t pass, there will be chaos in the economy. But if the risk is so high for the precarious economy, why did the government insist on such a referendum?

There is a poignant caricature that may explain why Erdogan will not stop embarrassing his country. In it, Erdogan says, “The people of Turkey are behind me,” and the people are pictured behind bars. That’s the situation of the AKP elite. To win, Erdogan not only needs their votes but their dedication. Turkey’s reputation is part of that price.

Tremblay is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse and a visiting scholar of political science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is a columnist for Turkish news outlet T24. Her articles have appeared in Time, New America, Hurriyet Daily News, Today’s Zaman, Star and Salom. On Twitter: @pinartremblay

Source: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/turkey-europe-erdogan-angry-outbursts.html#ixzz4cImDwu4x

Turkish President Erdogan says Europeans won’t be safe to walk the streets,

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By Samuel Osborne

(independent) Europeans across the world will not be able to walk the streets safely if they keep up their current attitude towards Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned.

Turkey has been mired in a diplomatic row with Germany and the Netherlands after they banned Turkish officials from campaigning in support of an April referendum on boosting the Turkish President’s powers.

“If Europe continues this way, no European in any part of the world can walk safely on the streets,” Mr Erdogan told journalists in Ankara. 

He added: “We, as Turkey, call on Europe to respect human rights and democracy.”

Turkish government officials are still participating in events for expatriate Turks across Europe, but are not campaigning for the referendum, the Turkish deputy prime minister has said.

Numan Kurtulmus said the row had helped Turks in Europe better understand the constitutional changes proposed in the referendum. 

He said the “footsteps of neo-Nazism and extreme racism” were being heard in Europe.

Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier used his first speech as president to accuse Mr Erdogan of jeopardising everything Turkey has achieved in recent years.

“The way we look [at Turkey] is characterised by worry, that everything that has been built up over years and decades is collapsing,” Mr Steinmeier said in his inaugural speech in the largely ceremonial role.

“President Erdogan, you are jeopardising everything that you, with others, have built,” he said, adding he would welcome “credible signs” to ease the situation.

Nato ally Turkey has repeatedly accused Germany of using Nazi tactics and has caused anger by holding German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel.

“But end the unspeakable Nazi comparisons!” Mr Steinmeier added. “Do not cut the ties to those people who want partnership with Turkey! Respect the rule of law and the freedom of media and journalists! And release Deniz Yucel.”

Mr Erdogan has previously branded the Netherlands “Nazi remnants” and accused Germany of “fascist actions.”

He has said his country may review its ties with Europe after the referendum, which he hopes will give him sweeping new powers, and has described Europe as “fascist and cruel,” saying it resembles the pre-World War Two era.

European leaders have made repeated calls for Turkish officials to avoid Nazi comparisons and the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany accused Mr Erdogan of disrespecting the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

“The comparisons between today’s Federal Republic of Germany and National Socialism, which we have heard in recent days, are not only insulting and absolutely false — they also relativize the Nazis’ rule of terror,” Josef Schuster said, German newspaper Die Welt reported.

“The comparison is monstrous and denigrates the suffering of the victims of the Shoah.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Turkey should stop Nazi comparisons “with no ifs or buts.”

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-erdogan-germany-netherlands-warning-europeans-not-walk-safely-a7642941.html

Erdogan ‘Not Welcome’ in Germany After New Nazi Taunts – CDU Deputy Chair

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not welcomed in Germany amid his recent speech about German Chancellor, the deputy chairman of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said Tuesday.

(Sputnik) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan crossed a line when he compared Chancellor Angela Merkel to Nazis and is not welcomed in Germany, the deputy chairman of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said Tuesday.

“Mr. Erdogan and his government are not welcome in our country… If he comes he should not be allowed, in my opinion, to make an appearance. This would threaten our country’s security,” Volker Bouffier told the Deutschlandfunk radio.

The war of words between Turkey and Germany escalated over the weekend when Erdogan accused Merkel of taking “Nazi measures” against his ministers and 1.4 million of eligible ethnic Turkish voters.

Germany came under a barrage of Nazi-themed jibes from Erdogan, who hit the campaign trail last month to drum up support for a reform that will give him greater executive powers. Bouffier ruled out Erdogan would tone down his rhetoric after the mid-April vote on it.

Germany’s Jewish community outraged by Erdogan’s Nazi remarks

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The head of Germany’s largest Jewish organization says the Turkish president’s last comparisons with National Socialism insult the memory of Holocaust victims. It’s the latest salvo in an incendiary war of words.

The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, says that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan disrespected the memory of the victims of the Third Reich in accusing German Chancellor Angela Merkel of using “Nazi methods.”

“The comparisons between today’s Federal Republic of Germany and National Socialism, which we have heard in recent days, are not only insulting and absolutely false – they also relativize the Nazis’ rule of terror,” Schuster said. “The comparison is monstrous and denigrates the suffering of the victims of the Shoah.”

Erdogan made his remarks on Turkish television on Sunday after a Kurdish political rally in the city of Frankfurt. The Turkish president accuses the German government of hindering political events in Germany in support of changes to the Turkish constitution that would give him broad new powers. Those changes are subject to a popular referendum on April 16, in which expatriate Turks in Germany can vote.

Schuster said comparing Merkel with the Nazis willfully ignored actual manifestations of anti-Jewish sentiment today.

“In a time in which anti-Semitism and right-wing populism are on the rise, this completely inappropriate comparison and the trivialization it entails of the horrific deeds of the Nazis downplay the true threats,” Schuster objected.

Erdogan has repeatedly used Nazi comparisons against his perceived enemies in Germany and the Netherlands while comparing Turks today to Jews in the Third Reich. He also told a Turkish newspaper that Europeans would “revive gas chambers if they weren’t ashamed.”

 

Anti-Erdogan rally draws 30,000 in Frankfurt Germany

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Some 30,000 pro-Kurdish demonstrators rallied in the German city of Frankfurt on Saturday calling for “democracy in Turkey” and urging a “no” vote in an upcoming referendum on expanding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers.

Turkey angrily denounced the demonstration as “unacceptable.” Many demonstrators carried symbols of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has battled the Turkish state for over three decades.

Tensions are already running high between Berlin and Ankara after German authorities refused to allow some Turkish ministers to campaign in the country for a “yes” vote in the April 16 referendum, which would hand Erdogan an executive presidency.

Significantly more people turned up for the rally than organizers had been expecting. It took place ahead of the annual Nowrouz festival, when Kurds mark the traditional New Year.

The Saturday protest march in Frankfurt went off peacefully, a police spokesman said.

Some of the participants carried flags and banners of the outlawed PKK, as well as portraits of the group’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in Turkey, calling for his release.

Police said no banners or flags were confiscated so as to not provoke the crowd, but added that photos had been taken which could lead to future prosecutions.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK launched its insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. The group is listed as a terror organization not just by Turkey but also the European Union — including Germany — and the United States.

Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a statement that the presidency “condemned in the strongest terms” the fact that the rally had been allowed to go ahead.

He said the “scandal” of the Frankfurt demonstration showed that some EU countries were actively working in favor of a “no” vote in the critical referendum.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in statement that Germany’s toleration of a rally with symbols of a group that it itself regards as a terror outfit was the “worst example of double standards.”

Erdogan on Monday accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of “supporting terrorists,” in a spiraling diplomatic row.

Turkey has long accused Germany of providing refuge to Kurdish and other militants.

A Merkel spokesman described Erdogan’s jibe as “clearly absurd.”

Erdogan has also accused Germany of “Nazi practices” for blocking his ministers from speaking to Turkish voters resident in Germany.

Germany is home to the largest Turkish diaspora in the world, many of whom are of Kurdish origin.

(Source: AFP)

Erdogan urges Turks living in Europe to Outbreed Whites in Europe

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Turks living in Europe to have at least five children so that they can outbreed whites and take over the continent—and in that way become “the future of Europe.”

There are at least 7.8 million Turks in Europe, and very likely more who have become European citizens and are thus no longer counted as “Turks” by the deliberately race-denying liberal governments.

Erdogan made his call for the racial colonization of Europe by Turks while campaigning last week in the city of Eskisehir for a referendum that would usher in a presidential system and enhance his powers.

Erdogan’s comments were made in reaction to moves by the governments of Germany and the Netherlands to outlaw Turkish election meetings in those counties.

The Dutch government prevented a Turkish minister from addressing a crowd in Rotterdam, and later used water cannons to disperse Turkish demonstrators in the city after they turned violent.

On Friday, Erdogan told Turks in Europe that they must “Go live in better neighborhoods. Drive the best cars. Live in the best houses. Make not three, but five children. Because you are the future of Europe. That will be the best response to the injustices against you.”

Erdogan has also accused the Dutch government of state terrorism, acting like “Nazi remnants,” and having a “rotten” character.

In addition, Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said last week that the EU was  “playing games” to prevent Ankara from becoming strong, and that Turkey could send 15,000 “refugees” a month to Europe to “blow its mind.”

“I’m telling you, Europe, do you have that courage? If you want, we could open the way for 15,000 refugees that we don’t send each month and blow your mind,” Süleyman Soylu said late Thursday, according to Hurriyet.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that Europe is headed for “wars of religion,” claiming Dutch politicians are taking the continent “to a cliff.”

“There is no difference between the mindsets of Geert Wilders and social democrats in the Netherlands. They all have the same mindset…that mindset is taking Europe to the cliff. Soon wars of religion may and will start in Europe.”

The statements—and the racial demographic reality—underline the fact that Europe can only be saved through the mass repatriation of all non-Europeans back to their homelands. Anything less is simply ignoring the reality of nonwhite population growth and its inevitable consequence of swamping native Europeans in their own nations.

Source: http://newobserveronline.com/erdogan-urges-turks-outbreed-whites-europe/

Turkish tyrant with golden chair accuses EU of ‘crusade’ against Islam

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The Turkish president has also said Europe is regressing to the pre-World War II era. German Chancellor Angel Merkel called for an end to the exchange of “insults.”

In a speech given to supporters in the western Turkish city of Sakarya, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invoked the medieval religious wars between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East in the context of present-day escalating tensions between the European Union and Turkey.

“My dear brothers, a battle has started between the cross and the half moon. There can be no other explanation,” Erdogan said on Thursday.

The Turkish president also stated the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Tuesday ruling, which permits companies to ban the Islamic headscarf as part of policies barring religious symbols in the workplace, was the start of a “crusade” by Europe.

Erdogan has recently upped his antagonistic rhetoric towards Europe after Germany and the Netherlands both canceled campaign appearances by Turkish politicians. The events were intended to drum up support for an April 16 referendum that, if approved, would vastly expand Erdogan’s presidential powers.

Erdogan has repeatedly compared the behavior of German and Dutch politicians to that of “Nazis” and accused Europe of hosting the “spirit of fascism.”

“Europe is swiftly rolling back to the days before World War II,” he said in his speech in Sakarya.

Post-election attacks on the Netherlands

Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also took aim at the Netherlands on Thursday despite the previous day’s election result, in which Dutch voters rejected right-wing populist Geert Wilders and his Islamophobic and anti-immigration platform.

“Hey Rutte! You may have emerged as the number one party in the election but you must know that you have lost Turkey as your friend,” Erdogan said in his televised speech.

Many analysts believe Rutte’s hardline approach to prohibiting Turkish politicians from campaigning in the Netherlands helped him gain the support of undecided voters who buoyed him to victory over Wilders.

Despite Turkey’s previous criticism of the virulently anti-Islam Wilders, Cavusoglu told a Turkish broadcaster on Thursday that there was “no difference” between the liberal Rutte and “fascist” Wilders.

The antagonistic rhetoric and authoritarian power expansions, as well as Ankara’s threats to suspend the 2016 migration agreement with the EU, has thrown the EU neighbor’s long-standing bid for entry into the bloc into question.

Merkel: ‘The insults need to stop’

For her part, German Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced Erdogan’s latest round of accusations. The Turkish president accused Merkel this week of supporting terrorists in the anti-Erdogan Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“I don’t intend to participate in this race to trade provocations,” she told the German regional newspaper “Saarbrücker  Zeitung.”

“The insults need to stop,” she added in comments printed in the paper’s Friday edition, referencing Turkey’s Nazi comparisons aimed at the Netherlands.

Merkel stated that Turkish political leaders are permitted to appear in the country under certain conditions: they must disclose who will appear and for what goal, and the foreign politicians must abide by Germany’s laws and constitutional principles.

“We do not give anyone a carte blanche for the future,” she added.

The chancellor’s comments came the same day the city of Hannover scrapped a Friday rally organized by the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) at which a senior Erdogan government official was set to appear.

The last-minute cancellation indicates tempers could get hotter and the Turkish-German relationship perhaps even cooler.

Pro-Erdogan supporters hack Twitter accounts

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Supporters of Turkish President Erdogan have posted messages on several high-profile Twitter accounts. The hackees include Borussia Dortmund, ex-tennis star Boris Becker, broadcaster ProSieben and Amnesty International.

The hackers posted early on Wednesday morning using the hashtags nazialmanya (Nazi Germany) and Nazihollanda (Nazi Netherlands), a swastika symbol and the sentence “See you on April 16.”

This is date of a referendum that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes will give him enhanced constitutional powers.

Read: Diplomatic row between Europe and Turkey escalates further

“We are aware of an issue affecting a number of account holders this morning,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

Hackers targeted several accounts with a large amount of followers. Among the victims were Amnesty International, the football club Borussia Dortmund and tennis legend Boris Becker.

Most of the posts have since been taken down.

Rising tensions

Some 3 million Turks live in Germany, a large number of whom are eligible to vote in the referendum. Turkish officials have been seeking to campaign in both Germany and Holland in recent weeks and have been largely blocked from doing so.

This in turn has raised tensions as the Netherlands goes to the polls and also adds grist to Erdogan’s mill that the EU is seeking to undermine his rule in Turkey.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, warned on Wednesday that the German government reserves the right to impose entry bans on Turkish officials hoping to campaign in Germany, though he said the measure would be a “last resort.”

This follows days of escalating tensions between Turkey and two EU nations, Germany and the Netherlands, over Turkish politicians’ hopes to campaign there ahead of their country’s referendum.

Erdogan has accused Germany of “Nazi practices” and recently labeled the Netherlands as “Nazi remnants” after it prevented two Turkish ministers from holding campaign rallies.

jbh/rt (dpa, AP)

Turkey’s Erdogan is manufacturing a crisis with Europe to rally support for one-man rule

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a masterful politician, never missing the opportunity to use or even manufacture a crisis to serve his agenda.  Each crisis – whether a massive corruption scandal, the Gezi Park protests, renewed conflict with Kurdish militants or a failed coup – has led to the consolidation of his grip over the state and society.

Now, by escalating a diplomatic row with several European countries, he is trying to stoke nationalist and Islamist sentiment domestically and among the Turkish diaspora ahead of an April 16 referendum on whether to dramatically expand the powers of the presidency.

The government’s bombastic rhetoric on the so-called Tulip Crisis with the Netherlands and a similar spat with Germany is designed to portray Turkey as a victim under attack from a hostile Europe.

Over the years, Turkey has sought to externalize domestic problems by accusing a dizzying array of international bodies of conspiring against it.  It’s an old and effective card that plays well into the Turkish psyche. “A Turk has no other friend but a Turk,” says one Turkish proverb.

Tight race

For Erdogan, the stakes of the referendum are high. Polls show a tight race and suggest that even some of the government’s supporters will not back the constitutional changes. Pro-government polls have a “Yes” vote prevailing, while opposition polls lean towards a “No.”

The outcome is likely to boil down to the nationalist vote, which is why a manufactured crisis with Europe over campaigning for the referendum may serve the government.

The ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) controversially allied with the government to pass the constitutional amendments through parliament in January.  However, the decision split the MHP, leading several prominent dissident lawmakers to be expelled from the party.  The wildcard that is likely to determine the referendum results, therefore, is how the party’s grassroots will vote.

The government argues that the presidential system would make Turkey “strong, united and independent” as it faces an array of real and imagined internal and external threats. Ironically, those arguments are made even as Erdogan’s policies and personal ambition have led to more instability and a weaker country.

Anyone against the referendum has been labeled a potential “terrorist” or coup supporter who wants to undermine Turkey.  The accusations extend to European states, which the Turkish government accuses of supporting Kurdish militants and putschists while advocating for a “No” vote.