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Turkey has stepped up spying in Germany, says Berlin

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Amid ongoing diplomatic unrest, German intelligence has reported an increase in Turkish spying in Germany. Turkey’s Foreign Minister meanwhile has said Berlin “must decide whether Germany is a friend or not.”

While tensions between Berlin and Ankara have escalated ahead of next month’s referendum on Turkey’s presidency, the German government said on Wednesday that there has been a significant increase in Turkish spying in Germany.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, said divisions in Turkey leading up to the controversial April 16 referendum on boosting the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were mirrored in Germany.

“The BfV is observing a significant increase in intelligence efforts by Turkey in Germany,” it said in a statement. No further details were provided.

Called referendum rallies

Already strained relations between Germany and Turkey reached a new low this month in a row over canceled Turkish political rallies to drum up support for the impending referendum.

Some 1.4 million Turks living in Germany are eligible to cast their ballot in the vote.

Hoping to calm the storm on Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel met with his Turkish counterpart Melvut Cavusoglu in Berlin. While both diplomats agreed on the importance of good relations, Cavusoglu said that Germany must now “decide whether Turkey is a friend or not.”

More talks in the pipeline

In light of recent comments from both Cavusoglu and Erdogan, Gabriel also made it clear that in maintaining good relations “there are lines that should not be crossed.”

“…And one of those is the comparison with Nazi Germany,” Gabriel said.

Cavusoglu, meanwhile, said he would host Gabriel for a new round of talks in Turkey “as soon as possible.”

In a bid to secure support ahead of next month’s referendum, Erdogan himself is also due to hold a rally in Germany. Critics have warned, however that the proposed presidential system which seeks to expand Erdogan’s powers as president would cement a one-man rule in the country.

Concerns over right-wing Turks and PKK

Fuelled by concerns over tensions between right-wing Turks in Germany and supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Bfv President Hans-Georg Maassen launched an investigation in January into possible spying by clerics sent to Germany by Ankara.

“There is the danger that these proxy fights between Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) supporters and nationalist, right-wing extremist Turks will escalate because there is a high, hard-hitting potential for danger in both groups,” Maassen said.

Although not specifically addressing the issue of Turkish spying, Maassen told reporters in January that Germany would not tolerate Turkish intelligence operations within its borders.

#FreeDeniz

Echoing Maassen on Wednesday, Gabriel said following his meeting with Cavusoglu that Turkey’s internal fights should not be imported into Germany.

Berlin has had its own fight to deal with in recent weeks, however, following the arrest of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel.

Yucel, a journalist for the German newspaper “Die Welt,” was arrested last month over allegations of terrorism propaganda, making him the first German reporter to be detained in Turkey as part of Erdogan’s wide-ranging crackdown on press freedom.

The 43-year-old, who has penned several articles critical of the Turkish government’s treatment of ethnic Kurds, has been in jail pending trial ever since, with Erdogan labeling him a “German agent.”

ksb/jm (Reuters, AFP, dpa)

Istanbul-Armenian photographer Ara Güler awarded with Honorary Prize of Turkey-Germany Film Festival

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Ara-GulerThe Honorary Prize of the 22nd Turkey-Germany Film Festival underway in German city  Nuremberg has been awarded to world-famous Istanbul-Armenian photographer Ara Güler. Ermenihaber reports referring to Karar.com Turkish media outlet.

Nuremberg Mayor handed over the award to Güler. While taking the stage to receive his award, Armenian-Turkish photographer noted that photographing is not only the act of taking photos. According to him, a photographer should describe a situation and express ideas through the photos.

Güler’s speech was followed by the screening of the documentary “The Eye of Istanbul” telling about the live and creative career of the renowned photographer.

All German politicians line up against ‘anti-democratic’ Turkish referendum campaign

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All German political parties in parliament have voiced support for keeping Turkish ministers from campaigning in Germany. They warned of bringing internal Turkish conflicts to Germany amid concern over democracy.

German lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Friday backed preventing Turkish politicians from campaigning in Germany for an upcoming referendum that critics say will deal a death blow to democracy in the country. 

Relations between the two NATO allies soured further on Thursday after the town of Gaggenau in southern Germany refused permission for Turkey’s justice minister to address supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The event was meant to rally support for an April referendum that will dramatically expand the powers of the presidency. The city of Cologne also blocked an event where Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybecki was to campaign on Sunday, citing security concerns.

The decisions drew a sharp rebuke from Ankara, with Turkish Foreign Minister on Friday accusing Berlin of campaigning against the referendum and double standards on freedom of speech.

Wolfgang Bosbach, a lawmaker from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, described Turkish arguments about freedom of speech as a “sleight of hand.”

“Germany is not a Turkish outpost, and there is no legal right for foreign politicians who want to campaign on German soil,” Bosbach said, warning that internal conflicts in Turkey should not be brought to Germany.

Horst Seehofer, Bavaria’s state premier and head of Merkel’s sister party, the Christian Social Union, told the daily “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that Turkish politicians had no right to carry out election campaigns in Germany.

“When Turkish politicians want to use our liberal laws to promote an anti-democratic restructuring in their country, then they are abusing their rights as a guest,” Seehofer said.

The opposition in Turkey has been handicapped in the referendum campaign and warned that if the constitutional changes pass the country would turn into a full-blown dictatorship. Germany is home to some 3 million people of Turkish origin, about half of whom can cast a ballot in April.

The Turkish referendum comes as Erdogan has used post-coup emergency powers to carry out a massive purge targeting tens of thousands of people, including journalists, like Germany’s Deniz Yucel, and the Kurdish opposition, drawing criticism from Europe. Erdogan and his ministers have repeatedly likened a vote against the referendum as support for the coup attempt and “terrorists.”

A broader deterioration in ties between Ankara and Berlin took another hit on Monday when Turkish-German “Die Welt” correspondent Deniz Yucel was arrested. He faces up to several years in prison if convicted on “terrorism” charges.

Thomas Strobl, the interior minister of Baden-Württemberg, where Gaggenau is located, said Turkey was retreating from the rule of law, press freedom and the foundations of democracy.

“Whoever wants to campaign for Turkish issues should do it in Turkey,” he told the “Mannheimer Morgen” newspaper.

Thomas Kutschaty, the justice minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and a member of the Social Democrats, also warned of Turkish officials stoking divisions in Turkish-German society.

Merkel should make clear to Erdogan that “such divisive campaigning with anti-democratic goals is not welcome here in Germany,” he told public broadcaster WDR.

Cem Ozdemir, the co-chair of the opposition Green party whose family is of Turkish origin, said on Thursday that Turkish politicians have no right to campaign in Germany so long as freedoms in Turkey are restricted.

“Set the opposition free, give them the possibility to hold events [against the referendum],” he said. “Stop restricting the press, set Deniz Yucel and the other journalists free. Then you can use our rights,” he said.

Sevim Dagdelen, a Turkish-Kurdish lawmaker for the opposition Left Party in the Bundestag, said German government must and can prevent Erdogan and his ministers from campaigning for dictatorship and a return of the death penalty.

German Greens co-chief Özdemir raps Merkel and Gabriel on Turkey, Afghanistan

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The co-chief of the Greens has accused Germany’s government of complying with the Turkish regime’s crackdown on liberties. Cem Özdemir also says Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel needs to stop deportations to Afghanistan.

Greens co-leader Cem Özdemir launched an election-year broadside in the Sunday edition of the populist broadsheet “Bild,” calling Germany’s government compliant with rights abuses in Turkey.

He also criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel’s planned trip to Ankara in April, just ahead of a referendum in which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will seek to expand his powers – and the amount of time he spends in office.

Özdemir said the trip could “only be evaluated as support for Erdogan’s journey toward dictatorship.”

He condemned a planned pre-referendum speech by Erdogan in Germany. “Erdogan abuses our democracy to campaign for his dictatorship,” Özdemir said. Seventy-seven percent of respondents in a recent survey also want Germany’s government to find a way to ban Erdogan’s speech.

Özdemir also said the government had been too reticent in calls for the release of Deniz Yücel, a journalist for the German newspaper “Welt” – also owned by “Bild” publisher Axel Springer – who has been arrested in Istanbul for his reporting.

Afghanistan: ‘Not safe’

Özdemir also struck out at Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel’s pursuing of deportations of rejected asylum applicants to Afghanistan despite the fact that much of the country remains at war or experiences warlike conditions. Gabriel must “swiftly adapt the appraisal of the situation to the reality,” Özdemir told Bild.

Other Greens took to the press Sunday to criticize Gabriel and deportations sought by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere. Federal parliamentarian Omid Nouripour told the public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the classification of Afghanistan as a “safe” country for deportations was “politically motivated.” Nouripour, who recently traveled to Afghanistan to evaluate the situation with his own eyes, said the ruling parties had fallen into a “panic” in the face of the rising anti-immigrant, nationalist party Alternative for Germany.

Last week, Gabriel said the situation could not be evaluated in Afghanistan as a whole – and that 56 percent of asylum applicants from the nation were approved anyway. “There are safe and very unsafe regions,” Gabriel said on Wednesday. According to numbers reported by “Welt” at the end of January, Germany has ordered more than 12,500 Afghans deported, and some politicians, especially from Bavaria’s ruling Christian Social Union, have called for removals to be accelerated.

Dietary dispute

In the interview, the Greens lawmaker also gave “Bild” a bit of personal information.

Now 51, Özdemir told the newspaper that he quit eating meat when he was 17 years old – and that his parents were not happy with the decision.

“For my father, meat was something that one had to work hard for,” Özdemir said. “He did not accept that his own son no longer wanted to eat it.”

mkg/tj (AFP, kna, epd, dpa)

Turkey urges expats in Germany to spy for Erdogan: Report

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Turkey’s government has reportedly asked teachers and parents of Turkish origin in Germany to collect information on any criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in German schools.

The Turkish consulate in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany has been holding meetings, named “information events,” during which it told the Turkish attendees that their children should film their teachers at classes, the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) reported.

The report cited the Union for Education and Science (GEW) as saying that parents and teachers of Turkish origin have been asked to report any critical comments about the Turkish government.

“We have heard from various different sources that people were told to report every piece of criticism of Turkey, which had been heard at schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, to the consulate,” said GEW spokesman Sebastian Krebs.

“The consulate also encouraged parents to tell their children to film teachers and pass on the evidence to Turkish authorities,” he added.

Teachers at the meeting in Dusseldorf, the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, refused to comply with the demand to spy on their schools, Krebs noted.

The Turkish consulate has not provided any comment with regard to the accusations, but Germany’s state security has launched a probe into the incident.

The accusations come on top of the reports in early February that imams from the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (Ditib) in Germany spied on Turkish followers of self-exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan has accused of plotting an attempted coup in Turkey last July.

Also on February 14, senior Austrian opposition lawmaker Peter Pilz accused Turkey of running an informer network via its embassy in Vienna aimed at targeting the critics of Erdogan and promoting his policies.

Pilz said he had sent documents regarding the activities of the network, run by the umbrella group ATIB, to the police.

The ATIB is headed by the religious attaché at Turkey’s embassy, Fatih Mehmet Karadas, and oversees the activities of dozens of mosques across Austria.

Pilz noted that the Turkish government sends imams to work for the ATIB to collect information in particular about followers of Gulen.

Gulen denies any involvement in the abortive coup, which claimed the lives of at least 240 people. However, the Turkish government has arrested tens of thousands of people over suspected ties with the US-based cleric.

The umbrella organization also monitors Turkish Kurds, Turkish opposition politicians and journalists in Austria, Pilz added.

German politics: Poll shows ‘reds and greens’ could oust Merkel’s conservatives

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A new poll in Germany shows the Social Democrats (SPD) still gaining in popularity. The results indicate that they could potentially form a majority coalition with the Greens and Left party if elections were held soon.

Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have again overtaken the conservative bloc of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) in a poll, the “Bild am Sonntag” newspaper reported on Sunday.

The “Sonntagstrend” survey by the polling institute Emnid showed the SPD climbing by one percentage point over the week to reach 33 percent, while the CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU fell by one point in the ratings to receive 32 percent.

The result marks the first time in 10 years that the leftist SPD has achieved ascendancy over the conservative parties in the “Sonntagstrend” poll, which Emnid conducts weekly for “Bild am Sonntag.”

Another recent poll conducted for the “Bild” newspaper by the Insa institute also showed the SPD ahead of the CDU/CSU bloc for the first time in a decade.

Popular leader

With the Left party and the Greens remaining stable at 8 and 7 percent respectively, the poll indicates that a coalition of the three leftist parties – which would be called a red-red-green coalition according to the German political color-coding system – would have a ruling majority if elections were held in a week’s time.

The recent success of the SPD in surveys is widely attributed to the party’s choice of charismatic former European Parliament President Martin Schulz as its new leader to replace Sigmar Gabriel , who has stepped down as party chief and become the German foreign minister.

The business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) also maintained its popularity in the poll, scoring 6 percent. But the anti-immigration, euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) continued its downward trajectory, losing one percentage point to hit 9 percent, its lowest popularity rating in the poll in a year.

German federal elections are scheduled for September 24 this year.

tj/rc (AFP, dpa)

Hundreds protested Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım who held a rally in Oberhausen, Germany today.

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German Left Party (Die Linke), Left Party Youth Organization and ‘No’ Platform of Europe have organised a demonstration in the German city of Oberhausen where Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım held a meeting today afternoon.

Demonstrators who gathered at the Oberhausen Central Train Station Haupteingang at 11:00 called for a ‘No’ organisation in European cities for the upcoming referendum against the genocidal policies of the Turkey’s ruling AKP government.

Speakers pointed out that Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP intended to cause a polarization of the migrants, and protested the Turkish state’s political genocide and policies of elimination and annihilation.

Demonstrators later staged a march to the area of Yıldırım’s rally where they united with the demonstration of German Greens (Grüne), chanting “Together against fascism” and “No to fascism, no to dictatorship in Turkey”.

Turkish imam spy affair in Germany extends across Europe

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(DW) A German investigation into Turkey’s religious officials collecting information on its enemies may be the tip of the iceberg. DW has obtained several documents revealing Turkish activities in Germany and European states.

German police on Wednesday raided the homes of four imams alleged to have spied on the opposition for the Turkish government. The police action is part of an investigation into what documents obtained by DW show to be a broader Turkish effort to collect information across Europe on supporters of the religious movement Ankara blames for last July’s failed coup attempt.

The raids targeted the homes of four Turkish imams affiliated with the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), Germany’s largest Islamic umbrella group with over 900 mosques tied to the Turkish government’s Directorate of Religion, or Diyanet.

The Federal Prosecutors Office (GBA) said in a statement no arrests were made in the raids in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and Rhineland-Pfalz, which aimed to collect evidence into imams conducting alleged espionage against supporters of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara blames for last July’s failed coup attempt.

The prosecutor’s office said the reason for the raids was related to a September order from Diyanet, a religious body tied to the Turkish prime ministry, for imams to pass information to diplomatic missions on Gulen supporters.

According to the documents obtained by DW, 13 imams and a “deputy coordinator” in the two states provided information to the Turkish religious attaché at the consulate in Cologne on at least 14 Gulen affiliated institutions and 45 people with alleged ties to the Gulen movement. NRW’s ministry of education has identified five people on the list as state-employed teachers.

A NRW interior ministry spokesman confirmed the documents from the Turkish consulate obtained by DW were the same as those in their possession. “It cannot be ruled out that further reports were drawn up from Germany and the neighboring countries,” he said.

In addition to naming people, the consular memos speak generally of those who “provide support or are sympathizers” of the Gulen movement, report on activity or name former institutions in their region.

German authorities have contacted those named on the lists and advised them against travel to Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has engaged in a massive post-coup purge.

Several of the imams have returned to Turkey, DW learned after making calls to some of the mosques, a factor likely to complicate the federal investigation.

Most of the Gulen-affiliated institutions are engaged in after-school tutoring for the socio-economically disadvantaged, inter-religious dialogue, cultural activities and projects to better integrate Turks in Germany. In NRW alone, the movement runs 63 associations and five private schools that get partial state support.

In the wake of the coup attempt, Turkey has called on all countries to clamp down on the Gulen movement, which it considers a terrorist organization.  The issue has raised tensions between Turkey and some of its NATO allies, including Germany.

Both reports from Austria say Turkish state religious officials have taken active measures against the Gulenist activities and its attempts at “infiltration.” The Salzburg memo says ATIB and other religious officials “destroyed all books, audio materials, video CDs, poetry, brochures, newspapers and propaganda material” related to the Gulenists.

In Austria, religious official have “just like in the homeland assessed possible connections of the nefarious terror organization” and informed the Turkish government, the document reads.

Earlier this week, Austrian Greens Parliamentarian Peter Pilz announced he was in possession of religious attaché reports from Salzburg and Vienna. Pilz said he was working on publishing documents from 30 countries that revealed a “global spying network” at Turkish diplomatic missions.

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/turkish-imam-spy-affair-in-germany-extends-across-europe/a-37590672

Germany’s Constitutional Court not to accept claim for cancelling bill about recognition of Armenian Genocide

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Germany’s Constitutional Court refused to accept the appeal for cancelling the bill that recognized the events of 1915 as the Armenian Genocide.

As the Turkish BirGun reports, the German Constitutional Court did not accept the appeal, stating that there are not sufficient evidences that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide violates any laws. The Turkish representative, Ramazan Akbash, announced that they will submit the appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in two days.

Germany investigates possible anti-Gulen spies by Turkish government

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German police have raided apartments of four men suspected of carrying out espionage on behalf of the Turkish government. The men, said to be clerics, are accused of spying on supporters of cleric Fethullah Gulen.

German authorities said on Wednesday that they had raided the apartments of four imams suspected of spying on opponents of the Turkish government.

The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (GBA) said the raids, in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, were to find evidence. No arrests were made.

The GBA said the imams were believed to have given information to a Turkish diplomatic mission about followers of the cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused US-based Gulen of instigating a failed military coup in July last year, and has launched a crackdown on his supporters inside Turkey.

“The individuals are suspected of having collected information about members of the so-called Gulen movement and passed it on to the general consulate in Cologne,” the GBA said.

Gulen – who was close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  before their relationship turned sour – has condemned the coup attempt, while acknowledging some of his supporters may have participated.

The GBA said in a statement that the clerics were believed to have acted on an order issued by the Turkish based religious authority Diyanet last September. That order requested “detailed reports” on pro-Gulen organizations, including small community groups.

Ankara’s influence ‘clear’

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the four men were members of Ditib, Germany’s largest association of mosques. The group brings imams from Turkey to serve Germany’s Turkish community, which numbers some three million people.

“It is very clear that the influence of the Turkish state on Ditib is big,” said Maas in a statement. “The association must plausibly disengage itself from Ankara.”

An Austrian, Green party lawmaker this week claimed that Turkish diplomats were enlisting Turkish religious organizations in Austria to undermine Gulen supporters there. Parliamentarian Peter Pilz said his team was working on documents to show the practice was even more widespread, spanning some 30 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia.

rc/jm (AP, Reuters)

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/germany-investigates-possible-anti-gulen-spies/a-37557872