Turkey's deputy PM slams German ban on Turkish leaders

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Tugrul Turkes on Saturday criticized Berlin’s ban on Turkish ministers’ rallies in German cities.

The move was not “a nice behavior”, Turkes said as he responded to reporters’ questions at Yunus Emre Institute in London, where he is holding contacts.

Earlier this week, Germany banned rallies of Turkish officials ahead of Turkey's April 16 referendum on constitutional changes.

On Thursday, the municipality of Gaggenau in southwest Germany revoked its permission for Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag's meeting, citing concerns about overcrowding. This prompted Bozdag to cancel his planned visit to Germany altogether.

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci’s planned address on Sunday to a Turkish community in the western city of Cologne was also cancelled by local authorities over security concerns.

The measures drew strong criticism from the Turkish government and opposition parties alike.

Nearly 1.5 million Turkish citizens in Germany are eligible to vote in the upcoming referendum, constituting more than 2.5 percent of the electorate.