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Berlin- A large part of the media and even some politicians in Germany are launching a massive campaign against a scheduled visit by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan To Berlin this month, because of his solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, and his accusation of Israel of “committing crimes against humanity” in its war on the Gaza Strip, and of “acting like an organization and not a state,” which made Israel announce a re-evaluation of its relations with Turkey.
Every time an Erdogan visit to Germany is announced, or whenever Ankara receives a German official, or officials from the two countries meet, criticism escalates against the policies of the Turkish president, but this time the voice was loud, due to the German government standing in complete opposition to the Turkish position in the war. On Gaza, and its great solidarity with Israel.
German government solidarity with Tel Aviv reached the point where Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected a ceasefire in Gaza for humanitarian reasons, during a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg a few days ago, under the pretext of “the necessity of continuing the war against terrorism.” Baerbock and German Chancellor Olaf also visited Israel during the war. Schulz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The German view of Erdogan
Yunus Ulusoy, an expert at the Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research (ZfTI) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, told Al Jazeera Net, “The events in Gaza are the tip of the iceberg, and they reinforce a negative image of Erdogan in Germany. The matter is not primarily related to the conflict in the Middle East, but rather to his policies and his position within power.” in Turkey”.
The German-Turkish researcher explains that Erdogan is viewed in Germany as someone who “suppresses the opposition and is hostile to democracy,” pointing out that “Turkish opposition circles are very active among the German public,” even though Erdogan was democratically elected in his country.
Bijan Geirsaray, Secretary-General of the Free Democratic Party, a party that is a member of the German government, said, “Erdogan’s continuous hate speech against Israel and his solidarity with the terrorist organization Hamas is unbearable.” The spokesman, who is of Iranian origin, said, “This matter must have consequences.” “It must be asked whether we should welcome Erdogan to Germany for these reasons.”
Party and media campaign
The German media focused a lot on Erdogan’s description of Hamas as a “national liberation movement” and described Western governments as “supporters of crimes against humanity in Gaza.” Germany classifies Hamas on terrorist lists, and has recently tightened its measures against it, threatening to deport all immigrants who sympathize with it.
Criticism also came from Johannes Winkel, youth leader Christian Democratic Union Party (Party of the former Chancellor Angela Merkel) who told the populist Bild newspaper that “Erdogan was and still is an Islamist, and has been inciting against Israel for a while, and in Germany,” and added, “If Germany still has some self-respect, this is the right time to cancel Erdogan’s visit.”
In turn, Markus Söder, head of the Christian Social Union, a party allied with the Christian Democratic Union, said, “It is dangerous for the head of a NATO member state to make these statements.” He told the newspaper “Merkur” that “we must not remain silent about his statements,” calling on the German Chancellor to take a position regarding the visit. Erdogan is expected.
Several newspapers took the same position on Erdogan, as the “Welt” newspaper website published the opinions of writers and personalities who refuse to visit Erdogan and accuse him of supporting terrorism, including an article by opposition Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, who called on Schultz to cancel the reception.
The newspaper “Tagesspiegel” also wrote that Erdogan “threatens internal peace in Germany” and that he “will double Germany’s challenges in dealing with immigrant communities through his inflammatory speeches,” in reference to the great support for the Palestinian cause among Arab and Muslim immigrants in Germany.
Political and ideological deposits
German politicians do not hide their disagreement with Turkish foreign policy on many issues, and although German-Turkish tension has eased during the Schulz era, especially since Ankara has been following for some time a new approach to “zeroing problems”, including softening its tone towards the West and assuming a greater role in mediation within the Ukraine war. However, this did not prevent the disputes from continuing.
Ankara blames Berlin for its bias towards Greece and Greek Cyprus in their dispute with Turkey, as well as for its support for the Turkish opposition, especially the large community in Germany, while Berlin criticizes Ankara regarding the imprisonment of Turkish journalists and opponents.
Turkey also accuses Germany of “covering up the activity of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party,” which Berlin classifies as a terrorist organization, in addition to what Turkey sees as a “German veto” that prevents a serious discussion about its accession to the Council of Europe. Germany has previously taken hard-line positions toward Turkey’s entry into the European Union.
Researcher Yunus Ulusoy comments, “The West cannot, during Erdogan’s era, predict Turkey’s policies,” and says, “Turkey is a member of NATO, but it maintains close relations with Russia, and also works with Iran, in addition to standing by Azerbaijan, while the Europeans stand by Armenia in The Karabakh conflict” highlights that Turkey presents itself differently and shows that it does not depend on the West.
tangled relationship
A large number of Turks attend the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Germany, given that the Turks are the largest foreign community in the country, which makes the Turkish Islamic institutions the largest, but most Turkish bodies in Germany tried to maintain a balanced line in the war on Gaza, and this includes the position of the Union of International Democrats. UID is a group of Turkish civil organizations, based in the German city of Cologne, and is seen as a lobby supporting the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey.
The Union declared “the necessity of a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, giving peace a chance, and immediately stopping the killing of women, children and infants, as well as releasing all hostages.” Turkish Islamic bodies also expressed a similar position.
Despite the activity of the Turkish opposition in Germany, and the opening of the way for some of them in the media, Erdogan enjoys great popularity among the Turks of Germany, as he received nearly two-thirds of the voters’ votes in the recent presidential elections, and while Berlin does not officially express its rejection of Erdogan continuing as president of Turkey, there are many signs. Because of the West’s general desire to change the Turkish leadership.
Researcher Ulusoy points out that changing the Germans’ view of Erdogan is difficult, but at the same time, Germany and Turkey’s relations remain very close, especially commercial, by virtue of Germany being its first trading partner, as well as by virtue of the “kinship” that unites them, embodied by about 3 million of the Turkish community in Germany. He says, “It is not necessary for relatives to love each other, but they cannot file a final divorce.”
