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Germany investigating 20 alleged Turkish spies

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The German Interior Ministry is looking into people allegedly spying on Fethullah Gulen supporters. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed last year’s attempted coup on Gulen followers.

The German Interior Ministry said Thursday it is questioning 20 individuals for allegedly spying on followers of an exiled preacher accused of being responsible for the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016.

“At the moment, a total of 20 accused and persons unknown are under investigation over suspicions that they worked as secret service agents on the orders of the Turkish government, and spied on followers of the Gulen movement,” said Germany’s interior ministry in a response to a query from Linke party lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen.

The German Interior Ministry told Associated Press news agency that it was investigating 16 known suspects as well as four others. It would not say how many were still in Germany.

German prosecutors said in March they were analyzing claims that Turkish agents were spying on followers of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames of being behind the attempted coup in Turkey last year which left hundreds dead. A raid on four homes of Islamic clerics affiliated with the union of Turkish-Islamic cultural organizations in Germany (DITIB) was conducted by Germany in February. They were believed to have passed information about Gulen followers in Germany to the Turkish consulate.

It is unknown whether any of the 20 people accused by the German Interior Ministry are Islamic clerics or imams.

Gulen is currently living in the US in self-imposed exile and has denied involvement with the failed coup. In the wake of the coup tens of thousands of Turks have been arrested or removed from state positions in Turkey.

Germany and Turkey in war of words

Germany’s relationship with NATO ally Turkey turned sour after the attempted coup. Germany condemned the crackdown on alleged coup conspirators by Erdogan, while Erdogan has made wild accusations against Germany, including one of Germany becoming a “haven for terrorists.”

Turks are currently voting on a referendum to give Erdogan more powers while Turkey is in a state of emergency. Germany blocked campaign events by Turkish ministers in March, which lead Erdogan to accuse Germany of using “Nazi” methods to silence supporters. Germany condemned the accusation.

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/germany-investigating-20-alleged-turkish-spies/a-38332089

DW Report: German authorities investigate high Turkish religious official

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Prosecutors in Germany are reportedly investigating one of the highest officials of the Turkish religious authority Diyanet. The inquiry comes amid worsening relations between Berlin and Ankara.

A network of German media including the “Süddeutscher Zeitung,” NDR and WDR reported late on Friday that the head of Diyanet’s foreign relations department, Halife Keskin, allegedly called on Turkish diplomatic missions around the globe to gather information on the group of followers of controversial Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen.

Gulen supporters are held responsible by the Turkish government for the failed coup attempt of July 2016.

According to German investigators, the material containing the request from Diyanet was handed to Karlsruhe authorities by an insider.

Keskin, the document says, also commissioned imams in Germany to investigate Gulen supporters.

List of spy targets

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed investigations for espionage a few days ago, with the spy allegations against Diyanet-commissioned imams already known.

A list of 300 names of alleged Gulen supporters and contacts was also handed over to Germany’s intelligence service by the Turkish intelligence agency MIT in February.

Included in the list were the names of Social Democrat (SPD) Bundestag deputies Michelle Müntefering, as well as Berlin city parliamentarian and member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic (CDU) party, Emine Demirbüken-Wegner.

In Saturday’s edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Müntefering criticized the German authorities’ handling of the list.

“I would have expected more sensitivity,” she said, noting that she had been informed about her name on Monday. “Parliament has a claim to know what and how this has happened,” she said.

Turkish-German relations worsening

Following the revelations, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the German government “cannot tolerate” Turkey spying on members of Germany’s parliament, adding that it is now up to federal prosecutors to determine whether this is the case.

The investigation into alleged espionage is just the latest incident to put already-strained German-Turkish ties under yet more pressure. Relations first took a turn for the worse last year when Germany officially declared the atrocities of the Ottoman Empire against Armenians in the First World War a “genocide.

Read more: What you need to know about the Turkish-German row

Ankara also hit back at Berlin with comparisons to Nazis earlier this month after several Turkish politicians were prevented from addressing German-Turks ahead of Turkey’s April 16 referendum which would extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers.

ksb/jm (AFP, dpa)

Germany blocks arms sales to Turkey – report

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The German government has refused approval for military exports to NATO partner country Turkey on a growing number of occasions. Ministers are concerned the weapons could be used to oppress the local population.

Berlin has rejected more than 10 applications for arms exports to Turkey in recent months, the German daily “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ) reports, citing a letter from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The ministry was answering questions by the left-wing MP Jan van Aken.

As a NATO partner, Turkey is rarely subject to restrictions on arms exports. But there are concerns that since last July’s coup attempt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a far-reaching purge of political opponents.

Concern over ‘internal repression’

“The importance of observing human rights will be particularly important in respect to arms export approvals,” a ministry official reportedly said in his reply to van Aken. Since the failed coup, “the federal government’s foreign security policy review” has given special consideration “to the risk of an intervention in the context of internal repression of the Kurdish conflict.”

According to German government figures, the federal government had rejected eleven individual arms shipments starting November 2016, compared to only eight between 2010 and 2015. The most recent refusals involved weapons, ammunitions and parts for the manufacture of certain armaments.

Likely to cause friction

“This is a first step,” van Aken told the “SZ” newspaper. “And next, we must make sure that Turkey doesn’t receive any weapons from Germany.”

The Left party MP said the Turkish government was waging war in its own country and in Syria and becoming “increasingly dictatorial.”

German-Turkish relations are tense at present after two cities banned campaign rallies by Turkish ministers who sought to address the large Turkish community living in Germany.

On April 16, Turks will decide in a referendum on reforms to the constitution that would give Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan far-reaching new powers.

In response, Erdogan accused Germany of using Nazi measures against his politicians.

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/germany-blocks-arms-sales-to-turkey-report/a-38059815

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)

Turkish opposition TV starts broadcasts from Germany

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A Turkish opposition television channel has started broadcasting from Germany. The channel hopes to highlight anti-democratic practices in Turkey.

A group of Turkish opposition journalists has started television broadcasts from the German city of Cologne in an effort to provide independent and objective news in Turkey.

Arti TV, Turkish for Plus TV, went live on Friday evening with the slogan “for a free and independent media and a democratic Turkey.”

The channel brings together several prominent opposition journalists, academics and politicians.

Among those at the station are journalists who lost their jobs and fled to Germany amid a crackdown on media under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

More than 100 journalists in Turkey are in prison, around 150 media outlets have been shut and nearly 3,000 journalists have lost their jobs in a sweeping crackdown on freedom of speech in the wake of last July’s failed coup attempt. Germany’s attention has recently focused on German journalist Denis Yucel, who is among the reporters imprisoned in Turkey.

The immediate goal of the opposition broadcaster is to prevent a referendum from passing next month. Voters will decide on a set of constitutional changes designed to dramatically expand Erdogan’s powers.

Arti TV is available online and via satellite.

In addition to Arti TV, the group of journalists established the artigercek.com news and analysis portal in February.

The television channel is funded by the Netherlands-based Arti Media Foundation and the founders hope to receive funding in the future from the German government.

 

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)

Merkel’s chief of staff mulls ban on Turkish politicians entering country

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(DW) Chancellery Head Peter Altmaier has said Germany would be legally entitled to ban Turkish politicians from campaigning in Germany. The threat came after Turkish President Erdogan accused Germany of Nazi practises.

Germany could ban Turkish politicians from entering Germany, Angela Merkel’s chief of staff threatened in an interview published on Wednesday.

Peter Altmaier said Germany still had plenty of legal options amid an escalating row with Ankara over Turkish referendum campaigns within Germany.

“We are firmly opposed to Nazi comparisons and grotesque allegations,” the CDU politician told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe.

“Turkey always attaches great importance to the fact that its honor is not violated. Germany also has an honor.

“We will take a close look at what is responsible and what is not. An entry ban would be a last resort. But we reserve the right to do that.”

The countries’ relationship became especially fraught after Germany cancelled several Turkish political rallies, citing public security concerns.

Altmaier’s home-state of Saarland prohibited on Tuesday all foreign officials from holding campaign rallies, with the policy immediately targeting Turkish officials.

Responsible for Srebenica 

Turkish President Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the bans as “fascist” and reeking of “Nazi practices” infuriating the German government. Turkey likewise attacked The Netherlands for its similar bans, accusing it of being responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide of 8,000 Bosniaks.

Erdogan’s aggressive rhetoric and European campaigning came one month ahead of a referendum to greatly expand Erdogan’s powers – a referendum in which expatriate Turks can vote.

Altmaier said international law allowed all countries, including Germany, to ban the entry of foreign government officials in extreme circumstances.

“It’s never happened in Germany, as far as I know,” he said. “But the fact that Germany has not made full use of its options under international law is no ‘free pass’ for the future.”

Mass arrests

German politicians were highly critical of mass arrests and dismissals in Turkey following a failed military coup last July. Critics claim a successful referendum would erode political checks and balances, but Erdogan says the powers are essential to maintain stability in Turkey.

Particularly inflammatory was Turkey’s treatment of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, who was arrested in Ankara last month, amid claims he was working as a German spy.

aw/ (dpa, Reuters, AFP)

The fascist Erdogan Merkel created now she has to deal with, Turkey’s Nazi analogy ‘cannot be tolerated’

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The fascist Erdogan Merkel created now she has to deal with it.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Turkish officials to stop comparing modern Germany to Nazi Germany as tensions continue to escalate between the two countries.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Germany of “Nazi practices” last week after several Turkish ministers were denied permission to hold rallies in Germany in support of an upcoming referendum on extending his powers.

Addressing the German lower house of parliament, Bundestag, on Thursday, Merkel said Turkey’s accusations of “Nazi-style practices” in modern Germany are “sad” and ”cannot be tolerated.”

“Comparisons with Nazi Germany always lead to misery, to the trivialization of the crimes against humanity committed by National Socialism [more commonly known as Nazism],” the German leader said.

Such comparisons by Ankara must stop, she said, adding “they are not worth considering our close ties between Germany and Turkey and our peoples – politically, in our society, as a NATO partner and economically.“

Merkel, however, said German officials would continue to do all in their powers to secure the release of detained German-Turkish journalist, Deniz Yucel.

In February, Turkey arrested the German newspaper Die Welt journalist, whom Erdogan has described as both a German spy and a representative of the outlawed Kurdish rebel group PKK, triggering a row between the two countries.

“The profound and serious differences between the Germany and Turkey touch fundamental issues of democracy and law,” Merkel said.

She cited “the situation of the freedom of opinion and the freedom of press in Turkey, about the fate of the many arrested journalists, also the journalist Deniz Yucel, for which the German government will do whatever they can.”

Last weekend, several German cities cancelled planned events in which Turkish cabinet ministers wanted to address pro-Erdogan rallies, citing security concerns.

Ankara described the cancellations as efforts by Berlin to sabotage the pro-Erdogan rallies as well as “meddling” in Turkey’s affairs.

About 1.5 million people of Turkish descent living in Germany are eligible to vote in the referendum next month on constitutional reform that would grant President Erdogan extended new powers.

Politicians in other European countries have also urged bans on any pro-Erdogan campaigning aimed at gathering support for a “yes” vote in Turkey’s April referendum on constitutional reforms.