Over the recent past, the diplomatic relationship between Turkey and the rest of the European Union has been on a nosedive. The relationship comes as a result of the President claiming that the EU has never fully appreciated the role that Turkey plays in housing Syrian refugees. However, recent timings efforts that have caused the ties to fail have been as a result of some the German and Dutch governments preventing campaigns within their cities for the passing of the Turkish referendum. Turkey’s President Erdogan is pushing forward a referendum whose majority yes-vote would lead to the country embracing an autocratic style of leadership, giving the President extensive powers and doing away with the parliamentary system of governance. However, blocking the campaigns for occurring, even if the move was reportedly due to national security, is a move that has not lied well with Erdogan. As such, he has taken his time in criticizing other members of the EU, an act that has led to Turkey’s relationships with these countries spiraling downward. We discuss the factors for the plummeting Turk-EU relationship below.
- The Turkish President Called Germans Nazis
Just last week, President Erdogan accused the Germans of being Nazi remnants. At a political rally in Istanbul, he expressed his disapproval for Germany preventing his campaign from conducting a rally within their country that targeted Turks living in there. The rally was in line with his support for a yes vote in the coming referendum. At the rally, Erdogan said, “Your practices are not different from the Nazi practices of the past. You will lecture us about democracy and then you will not let this country’s ministers speak there.”
In response, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was not amused. She said, “It’s especially grave — and I personally find it just sad — that Nazi comparisons really only lead to one thing: trivializing the incomparable crimes against humanity carried out under National Socialism. One cannot seriously comment on such misplaced statements.”
- The Apprehension of Deniz Yücel
German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel was put under arrest by the Turkish government after he wrote a piece about the hacking of Berat Albayrak’s emails. Berat is the current Energy Minister for Turkey and Erdogan’s son-in-law. For his arrest, Yucel was accused of “propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization” and “provoking the people to hatred and animosity.” The arrest brought out apprehension even in pro-government circles, with Mustafa Yeneroglu noting that the arrest was “problematic.” Mustafa is a member of Turkey’s ruling political association which is the Justice and Development Party. On his Twitter platform, he wrote, “The concept of propaganda is being stretched.”
In Germany, Merkel has expressed her disfavor of Yucel’s arrest. She said at the beginning of March that her country “will continue to insist on a fair and legal treatment of Deniz Yücel and hope that he will soon regain his freedom.” Additionally, Human Rights groups have staged protests and demonstrations all over Germany for the release of the journalist. In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists described the charges against Yucel “spurious” and demanded that the Turkish government release him immediately.
In his address, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel continued to highlight the issues the German government and consequently the EU has with Turkey. He said that the journalist’s apprehension “Shines a bright spotlight onto the differences our two countries have when it comes to the implementation of fundamental principles of the rule of law and valuing press freedom and freedom of speech.”
The arrest brings the total number of journalists who have been put behind bars since the attempted coup to 152 according to the Republican People’s party which acts as Turkey’s opposition.
- The Barring of Turkish Ministers from Speaking in Rotterdam
The Netherlands prevented representatives from Turkey from carrying out a scheduled rally in Rotterdam. At the height of this issue, Turkey’s Family Minister was blocked by police from accessing her country’s consulate in Rotterdam. Outside the consulate, a score of Turkish protesters waving flags demanded to see the minister. In a bid to disperse the crowd, Dutch police used dogs and water cannons. The act was in retaliation after the crowd threw bottles and stones at police. Some demonstrators were beaten with batons as the police charged into the crowd on horseback and in armored vans. They also had support from officers on foot.
In line with this occurrence, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was barred from flying to Rotterdam. Additionally, Betul Sayan Kaya said that Dutch authorities were escorting her back to Germany. Betul is Turkey’s family minister. On Twitter, she expressed her sentiments regarding the approach of the Dutch towards the situation. She wrote, “We’re not allowed to enter into our Consulate which is part of our homeland. Is this really the heart of Europe as the cradle of civilization.”
She also rallied Turks behind her in the wake of the occurrence saying it was wrong. To the press, she said, “The world must take a stance in the name of democracy against this fascist act! This behavior against a female minister can never be accepted.”
The Dutch government cited possibilities that there could be divisions between its Turkish minority as a result of the rallies. The divisions would stem along support for President Erdogan, and as such would cause decreased Dutch unity in the wake of its election. As such, the government stated that it considered the visits from Turkish Ministers so as to hold rallies undesirable. Additionally, the Dutch government said it “could not cooperate in the public political campaigning of Turkish ministers in the Netherlands.”
In the wake of this issue, President Erdogan has taken the opportunity to remind his citizens of the Dutch’s role in the Srebrenica massacre. The genocide was the worst in Europe since the Second World War. During a speech that was televised live on Tuesday, Erdogan said, “We know the Netherlands and the Dutch from the Srebrenica massacre. We know how rotten their character is from their massacre of 8,000 Bosnians there.”
The address caused even greater discomfort in the EU over Turkey’s referendum and just what policies would be put in place in the wake of a yes-vote. Currently, polls show that there are still fluctuations in the number of Turks supporting the referendum. In the most recent poll, 40 percent of Turk’s were pro-Erdogan while another 40 were against the passing of the referendum. 20 percent of those polled said they were still undecided.
Apart from Germany and the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland have also raised security concerns over Erdogan’s rallies in these countries. As such, they have barred him from conducting them. This shows more countries in the EU are growing increasingly aware of Turkey’s political instability and the growing effect it is having on Europe as a whole.
