Turkey said on Monday it would suspend high-level diplomatic relations with the Netherlands after Dutch authorities prevented its ministers from speaking at rallies of expatriate Turks, deepening the row between the two NATO allies, Reuters reports.
The sanctions – which include a ban on the Dutch ambassador and diplomatic flights from the Netherlands but do not appear to include economic measures or travel restrictions for ordinary citizens – mark another low point in relations between Turkey and the European Union, which it still officially aims to join. President Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking Turkish voters’ support in an April 16 referendum on boosting his powers as head of state, has previously accused the Dutch government of acting like “Nazi remnants” for barring his ministers from addressing expatriate Turks to drum up votes.
The row is likely to further dim Ankara’s prospects of EU membership. It also comes as Turkey wrestles with security concerns over militant attacks and the war in neighboring Syria.
“We are doing exactly what they did to us. We are not allowing planes carrying Dutch diplomats or envoys from landing in Turkey or using our airspace,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. “Those creating this crisis are responsible for fixing it.”
Kurtulmus, the government’s chief spokesman, also threatened to scrap Turkey’s deal to stop the flow of migrants into Europe, saying the agreement may need to be re-evaluated. He said high-level government meetings would be suspended between the two countries until the Netherlands had atoned for its actions.
Earlier Erdogan threatened to take the Dutch to the European Court of Human Rights.
Turkey also summoned the Dutch charge d’affaires on Monday to complain about the ban – imposed due to fears of unrest and also to Dutch distaste at what Europe sees as an increasingly authoritarian tone from Erdogan – and the actions of police against Turkish protesters in Rotterdam over the weekend, foreign ministry sources said.
On Sunday, Dutch police used dogs and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters waving Turkish flags outside the consulate in Rotterdam. Some protesters threw bottles and stones and several demonstrators were beaten by police with batons, a Reuters witness said. Mounted police
The fascist Erdogan Merkel created now she has to deal with, Turkey’s Nazi analogy ‘cannot be tolerated’
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.
Turkey: Erdogan refuse to see himself in mirror, he says Dutch are “Nazi remnants and fascists”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the Dutch as “Nazi remnants and fascists”, as a row grows over a cancelled Rotterdam rally, BBC News reports.
Earlier, the Dutch government withdrew landing permission for a plane carrying Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.
He was originally scheduled to speak at Saturday’s rally in support of a Yes vote in a referendum which would give Mr Erdogan greatly increased powers.
The rally was banned for security reasons, Rotterdam’s mayor said.
Turkey has now summoned the Dutch charge d’affair
“Ban our foreign minister from flying however much you like, but from now on, let’s see how your flights will land in Turkey,” President Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul.
Mr Cavusoglu also warned Turkey would impose heavy sanctions if his visit were blocked.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a statement (in Dutch) that the Turkish threat of sanctions made “the search for a reasonable solution impossible”.
Therefore the Netherlands was withdrawing landing rights, he said.
The diplomatic row comes just days before Dutch voters go to the polls.
Austrian FPÖ head compares failed Turkish coup to Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany
The head of Austria’s far-right party has likened the failed coup in Turkey and subsequent purges to the burning of the Reichstag in Nazi Germany. Turkish President Erdogan has firmly denied any coup involvement.
Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ), drew parallels between the aftermath of the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany and a recent attempted military coup in Turkey, in an interview published on Saturday.
“One almost had the impression that it was a guided putsch aimed in the end at making a presidential dictatorship by Erdogan possible,” Strache told the Austrian daily Die Presse in an interview.
“He then grabbed complete power for himself – with prepared lists,” said Strache.
“We have dramatically experienced such mechanisms in history before, such as the burning of the Reichstag, where one seized complete power as a consequence,” added the FPÖ head.
In 1933, the fire on the German parliament building was depicted by the Nazis as a Communist ploy against the government. The blaze was used to justify curbing civil liberties and finalized Adolf Hitler’s powerful hold on Germany.
His comments were later echoed by Christian Lindner, the leader of Germany’s Free Democrat party (FDP), who also compared the recent failed coup in Turkey to the 1933 Reichstag fire. He told the “Bild am Sonntag” newspaper that Erdogan was “building an authoritarian regime tailored solely to himself.”
Lindner said the power grab meant that Erdogan “cannot be a partner for Europe.” He added that he was disgusted that EU accession talks for Turkey had not been stopped long ago.
Following the attempted military coup on July 15 by a faction within the Turkish army, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used the coup plot to justify a crackdown on political opponents in universities, media, the judiciary, civil service and the army.
Erdogan has staunchly rejected any accusations that his government might have planned the coup. He has also blamed the attempted uprising on a US-based Muslim cleric.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern suggested earlier this week that the European Union discuss the possibility of ending talks with Turkey over its EU membership bid.
Turkey’s foreign minister fired back on Friday, calling Austria the “capital of radical racism” following Kern’s comments.
rs/mm/bw (dpa, Reuters)
‘Europe Turns a Blind Eye’ To Erdogan’s Praise of Nazi Germany
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s praise of Adolf Hitler’s Germany, which he cited as an example of effective centralized government, was ignored by a Europe Union more concerned with negotiations surrounding refugees, French politicians said.
European politicians have preferred to “turn a blind eye” to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s praise of Adolf Hitler’s leadership of Germany, French legislator Thierry Mariani wrote on Twitter.
Erdogan told reporters on Friday, that Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler was an “example” of an effective form of government. Erdogan’s office later issued a convoluted statement which attempted to explain that Erdogan meant to say the exact opposite. Erdogan cited Nazi Germany as an example of a system which had a unitary system of government and a strong executive, like the one he wants for himself.
Erdogan cite l'Allemagne d'Hitler en exemple! Mais l'Europe ferme les yeux préférant négocier avec lui… #Lâcheté https://t.co/b3mCVWmo1O
— Thierry MARIANI (@ThierryMARIANI) January 2, 2016
“Erdogan cites Hitler’s Germany as an example! But Europe turns a blind eye, preferring to negotiate with him…”
Another legislator member of the Nicolas Sarkozy-led Republicans party, Valerie Boyer, echoed Mariani’s concerns:
Erdogan faisant l'éloge d'Adolf Hitler, je demande au #Gouvernement de clarifier sa position sur la #Turquie pic.twitter.com/yDvN6MS2NW
— Valérie Boyer (@valerieboyer13) January 1, 2016
“Erdogan uses Nazi Germany as an example. Is Turkey’s entry into the EU still timely?”
A senator from France’s upper house of the legislature also questioned recent moves by the European commission to open a new chapter in Turkey’s EU membership process amid negotiations on refugee trafficking:
“Erdogan wants to strengthen his powers as President in Turkey, he cites Hitler in Nazi Germany! And Europe is negotiating membership?”
Turkey and the European Union opened a chapter on the country’s membership in the organization on December 14, amid negotiation on the migrant deal.
Azerbaijani aggression tantamount to Nazi policies
Azerbaijan’s aggressive stance on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) is comparable to nothing more or less than the Nazi German policies in the concentration camps, says a spokesperson for the Nagorno-Karabakh president.
“It is nothing else but a manifestation of fascism; absolutely no difference from what they [the Nazis] did in Buchenwald and Austwitz,” David Babayan told Tert.am, commenting on the past days’ deadly violations of ceasefire.
Babayan described the aggression as the continuation of the Turkish-Azerbaijani genocidal policies against Armenia “given especially that they use Turkish weapons.”
He promised an adequate counteraction against the country. “The enemy will not be able to keep us in terror. On the country, it is falling into its own trap and doing everything possible to later see the Artsakh flag swaying on top of Aliyev’s presidential residence,” he added.
UK: Royals told: open archives on family ties to Nazi regime
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor meet with Adolf Hitler in Munich in 1937. Photograph: PA
Historian urges that secret correspondence be made public to reveal the truth after Queen’s Nazi salute footage released
Buckingham Palace has been urged to disclose documents that would finally reveal the truth about the relationship between the royal family and the Nazi regime of the 1930s.
The Sun’s decision to publish footage of the Queen at six or seven years old performing a Nazi salute, held in the royal archives and hitherto unavailable for public viewing, has triggered concerns that the palace has for years sought to suppress the release of damaging material confirming the links between leading royals and the Third Reich.
Unlike the National Archives, the royal archives, which are known to contain large volumes of correspondence between members of the royal family and Nazi politicians and aristocrats, are not compelled to release material on a regular basis. Now, as that relationship becomes the subject of global debate, historians and MPs have called for the archives to be opened up so that the correspondence can be put into context. report The Guardian
“The royal family can’t suppress their own history for ever,” said Karina Urbach of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. “This is censorship. Censorship is not a democratic value. They have to face their past. I’m coming from a country, Germany, where we all have to face our past.”
The Sun was subjected to a backlash on social media, after publishing 80-year-old home movie footage from the grounds of Balmoral Castle, in which a laughing Elizabeth, her mother, Prince Edward (later Edward VIII) and Princess Margaret, were shown making Nazi salutes. Barbara Keeley, Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles South, retweeted a message that read: “Hey @TheSun, if you want to stir up some moral outrage about a misjudgement in history, look a bit closer to home.”
Many expressed incredulity that the paper had published the actions of a child. But the managing editor, Stig Abell, defended publication. “It is an important and interesting issue, the extent to which the British aristocracy – notably Edward VIII, in this case – in the 1930s, were sympathetic towards fascism,” he said. The paper declined to comment on how it acquired the footage. Legal experts suggested a police investigation was unlikely, especially given the collapse of recent cases in which Sun reporters walked free after being accused of paying public officials for information.
“On the face of it, this information has been obtained legitimately and used in accordance with what the newspaper feels is appropriate interest,” said John Cooper, QC.
“It’s really a question not so much on the law but whether it’s in the public interest for this material to find its way into a newspaper. The public interest in this document being produced is nothing to do with the royal family but how startling it is that in 1933 people were so naive about the evils of Nazism.”
Urbach, author of Go-Betweens for Hitler, a new book about the relationship between the royals and the Nazis, has spent years trying to gain access to documents relating to Nazi Germany held in the royal archives. She described the archives, in Windsor Castle’s Round Tower, as “a beautiful place to work but not if you want to work on 20th-century material … you don’t get any access to anything political after 1918”.
She described seeing shelves of boxes containing material relating to the 1930s that no one is allowed to research. She suggested that much of the archives’ interwar material no longer existed.
“We know that after ’45 there was a big cleanup operation,” Urbach said. “The royals were very worried about correspondence resurfacing and so it was destroyed.”
Helen McCarthy, a historian of modern Britain at Queen Mary University of London, echoed Urbach’s comments, tweeting that “if Royal Archives were more accessible & welcoming to researchers, ‘shock’ discoveries like Sun’s front page could be put in better context”.
Historian Alex von Tunzelmann suggested on Twitter that the lack of access to the royal archives for historians and the public “is profoundly undemocratic. We need much greater access. We need to be grown up about it. The history of this country belongs to the public”.
Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, a member of parliament’s influential political and constitutional reform committee and a prominent supporter of the recent release of Prince Charles’s confidential memos to politicians, said the royal family needed to allow full access to its archives, including those relating to Germany in the 1930s.
“It was a very interesting part of our history, when we had a future king who was flirting with the Nazis and the Blackshirts, and we need to know the truth of it,” Flynn said. “We need more openness. The royals have great influence still. Charles is still the most important lobbyist in the land.”
The Sun’s decision to publish the 17 seconds of footage, thought to have been shot in 1933 or 1934, has served as an unwelcome reminder for the royal family of its past links to the Nazis. The Queen, then aged six or seven, joins her mother, then Duchess of York, and her uncle Edward, the Prince of Wales, in raising an arm in salute as she plays alongside her younger sister, Princess Margaret. Her mother then raises her arm in the style of a Nazi salute and, after glancing towards her mother, the Queen copies the gesture. Prince Edward is also seen raising his arm.
Edward, who abdicated to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson, faced numerous accusations of being a Nazi sympathiser. The couple were photographed meeting Hitler in Munich in October 1937.
A palace spokesman said: “It is disappointing that film, shot eight decades ago and apparently from Her Majesty’s personal family archive, has been obtained and exploited in this manner.”
Greece puts a price tag on WW2 reparations: 279 billion euros
Athens has said Germany should pay nearly 279 billion euros in compensation for the Nazi occupation of the country. The claim comes as Greece faces demands from the IMF to introduce more pension cuts and raise taxes.
Greece demanded 278.7 billion euros ($304.74) from Germany as compensation for damages it incurred during World War Two, Athens deputy finance minister Dimitris Mardas said while speaking to a parliamentary committee on Monday.
According to calculations by Greece’s General Accounting Office, reparations amounted to 278.7 billion euros, a sum which a parliamentary panel set up by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was trying to claim from Germany.
This is the first time the Greek government quantified its claims, which included seeking war reparations and a so-called occupation loan that Nazi Germany forced the Bank of Greece to make. Athens also demanded that Berlin return its stolen archaeological treasures.
Germany has rejected Athens’ demands, saying it settled the matter with a general compensation payment of 115 million deutschmarks in 1960. However, the issue continues to mar Greek-German relations and has gained more momentum amid Greece’s economic crisis and its government’s refusal to implement austerity measures.
Debtors had been concerned after speculation that Athens may default on its repayment of 450 million euros, due on April 9. However IMF chief Christine Lagarde announced that Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had confirmed his country would pay back the money. Varoufakis also said his country would try to seal an initial deal with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund by April 24.
Greece’s finance ministry has said the IMF is demanding that the government introduce more pension cuts and hike VAT as part of its reforms. Prime Minister Tsipras and his Syriza party, however, say they worry that such a cut may impact their voter base – voters who put Syriza in charge because of the party’s opposition to austerity measures.
European Union countries have also expressed concern about rumors that Tsipras may look for help from Russia, which he is scheduled to visit on April 8.
Finance Minister Varoufakis has assured critics that his country’s woes could only be solved within the “European family” and that discussions with Moscow will focus only on bilateral trade and investment.
mg/gsw (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
Greek cartoon depicts German finance minister as Nazi
Greek cartoon depicts German finance minister as Nazi
(Reuters) A spokesman for Germany’s finance minister Friday condemned as “vile” a Greek newspaper caricature that showed minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in a Nazi-era army uniform and alluded to the Holocaust.
The artist of the cartoon in Sunday’s Avgi newspaper, a pro-Syriza party daily, should be “ashamed,” said Schaeuble’s spokesman, asked to comment at a regular government briefing.
“There is the principle of freedom of expression,” spokesman Martin Jaeger told reporters.
“I will also make use of this freedom of expression, and on a very personal basis I say: this caricature is vile and the artist of this caricature should be ashamed.”
The cartoon depicts Germany’s finance minister in a Wehrmacht uniform saying “we insist on the soap from your fat … we are prepared to discuss the fertilizer from your ashes.”
The headline reads, “The negotiation has begun,” referring to the talks the new Syriza-led government in Athens is holding with its eurozone partners on debt relief and economic reforms.
The Greek newspaper, which has a daily circulation of only about 1,800, published another cartoon of Schaeuble in its Friday edition, also wearing a German army uniform.
Germany has been the strongest opponent of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s plans for an overhaul of its huge loans program. Many in Athens blame Berlin for imposing austerity since the country’s first bailout in 2010.
Greece began tough negotiations with its creditors on Friday as hopes grew of a deal to replace its detested bailout after Tsipras pushed his case at a European summit.
Officials from Athens held technical discussions with the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank in Brussels ahead of a last-ditch meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday.
European and Asian stock markets rose Friday on the more positive mood after hard-left leader Tsipras met German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the leader of Europe’s biggest economy, and other counterparts in Brussels.
Tsipras vowed after his election in January to replace the current €240 billion ($270 billion) EU-IMF bailout with its heavy austerity measures, and to ditch the so-called troika of its creditors.
But with the Greek rescue program due to expire at the end of the month, time is running out to prevent a possible Greek default and a potentially catastrophic exit from the 19-country eurozone.
A senior EU official closely involved in Friday’s technical-level talks said that a new bailout programme was an option, despite the insistence of Greece’s eurozone counterparts until now that Athens stick to the current rescue package.
“It is not crucial to extend. One could also agree that one will commence discussions on a new programme,” the EU official said on condition of anonymity. “I would not exclude it.”
Record 17,000 join ‘Pinstripe Nazi’ anti-Islam march in Germany
Agence France-Presse in Berlin
Many in Berlin shocked by emergence of far-right anti-Islamist group Pegida as growing numbers join weekly Dresden protest
A record 17,000 people have joined the latest in a string of demonstrations against Islam in Dresden, eastern Germany, celebrating the rise of their far-right populist movement by singing Christmas carols.
The march on Monday night was organised by Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West – a group that has grown rapidly since its first protest in October.
Politicians from all major parties have been stunned by the emergence of the right-wing nationalists who vent their anger against what they consider a broken immigration and asylum system.
About 4,500 counter-demonstrators marched through the city under the slogan “Dresden Nazi-free”, warning that there was no space for racism and xenophobia in the country that perpetrated the Holocaust.
Most Pegida followers insist they are not Nazis but patriots who worry about the “watering down” of their Christian-rooted culture and traditions. They often accuse mainstream political parties of betraying them and the media of lying.
Braving cold and wet weather, they gathered outside the historic Semperoper concert hall for their pre-Christmas recital. Police put their numbers at about 17,500, up from the previous high of 15,000 a week earlier.
The management of the opera house signalled its distaste by turning the building’s lights off and flying flags outside that read: “Open your eyes”, “Open your hearts”, “Open doors” and “Human dignity is sacrosanct”, the first line of the national constitution.
The Protestant bishop of Saxony state, Jochen Bohl, said the Pegida followers, by singing Christmas carols, were seeking “to exploit a Christian symbol and a Christian tradition” for political purposes, German news agency DPA reported.
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, of the centre-left Social Democrats, called for concerned citizens to launch a “rebellion of the decent” against the anti-foreigner movement, saying “that’s the kind of public reaction we need now”.
Pegida, born in a city that was part of communist East Germany until the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago, has spawned copycat groups in western areas which have failed so far to attract similar crowds.
Smaller clone groups rallied Monday in the western cities of Bonn, Kassel and Wuerzburg, but they only drew up to 200 followers each and were all vastly outnumbered by counter-demonstrations that drew 20,000 nationwide.
Police reported no major violence but said eight people were temporarily detained after confrontations in Kassel, reported German news agency DPA.
The biggest anti-Pegida march was held in the southern city of Munich, where at least 12,000 rallied under the banner “Make space – Refugees are welcome”.
“We have space for people of different skin colour, ethnic origin and mother tongue,” city mayor Dieter Reiter told the crowd.
“We have space for all religions and believers: for those who go to the mosque on Fridays, who go to the synagogue on Saturdays, or to church on Sundays, but also for those who prefer to just stay home.”
The movement has emerged at a time when Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has become the continent’s top destination for asylum seekers, and the world’s number two destination for migrants after the United States.
The influx of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several African and Balkan countries has strained local governments, which have scrambled to house the newcomers in old schools, office blocks and army barracks.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has cautioned Germans against falling prey to any form of xenophobic “rabble-rousing”, while other lawmakers have deplored the new “pin-striped Nazis”.