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Ban
Berlin, March 15, 2017 (dpa/NAN) The German Government said on Wednesday that it reserved the right to ban Turkish ministers from entering the country to campaign in support of constitutional reform in Turkey.
It said that the measure would be a “last resort”.
Gaermany, as well as several other European countries, have been rowing with Turkey in recent weeks over Ankara’s efforts to lobby Turkish voters abroad.
In Germany, 1.4 million Turks are eligible to vote in an April referendum that would give greater powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The fact that the federal government has yet to make use of the options available to it under international law is not a free pass for the future.
“An entry ban would be the last resort, we reserve the right to do so,” Peter Altmaier, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, said.
Erdogan lashed out at the German government last week after local authorities prevented Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and other members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) from promoting a “yes” vote in the referendum.
The Turkish government had suspended all high-level diplomatic contact with the Netherlands in response to the country’s decision to deny landing rights to Cavusoglu and expel the Turkish family minister.
Both had planned to hold campaign rallies in Rotterdam.
Austria and Switzerland have also blocked rallies.
A rally in France was allowed to go ahead. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Abdullahi Yusuf