Germany on Friday summoned Turkey's envoy after Ankara detained almost a dozen lawmakers from the main pro-Kurdish party, warning that a crackdown against terror should not be used as an excuse to silence the opposition.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier "summoned Turkey's envoy to the foreign ministry" for talks "on latest developments in Turkey", said a ministry source.
While Ankara "has the right to counter the threat of terrorism and to deal with the bloody coup attempt through the law, that should not serve as a justification to muzzle the opposition or to put them behind bars," the source said.
Berlin felt it "could not remain silent" given the deep ties between the two countries and its people.
"It is therefore necessary to formally communicate the government's position to the Turkish government," said the source.
[thelocal.de]
4/11/16
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Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier "summoned Turkey's envoy to the foreign ministry" for talks "on latest developments in Turkey", said a ministry source.
While Ankara "has the right to counter the threat of terrorism and to deal with the bloody coup attempt through the law, that should not serve as a justification to muzzle the opposition or to put them behind bars," the source said.
Berlin felt it "could not remain silent" given the deep ties between the two countries and its people.
"It is therefore necessary to formally communicate the government's position to the Turkish government," said the source.
[thelocal.de]
4/11/16
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EU "extremely worried" by Turkey's arrests of Kurd leaders...
ReplyDeleteThe European Union is "extremely worried" by Turkey's arrest of Kurdish opposition lawmakers and has called a meeting of EU national envoys in Ankara, the bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini tweeted Friday...
"Extremely worried for arrest of (Selahattin Demirtas) and other (HDP) MPs," she said. "In contact with authorities. Called EU ambassadors meeting in Ankara."
Police raided the homes and detained the joint leaders of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the second-biggest opposition party in the national parliament, and nine other HDP lawmakers early Friday after they refused to give testimony for crimes linked to "terrorist propaganda".....AFP