08-18-2017, 11:20 PM
*** 19-Aug-17 World View -- Germany accuses Turkey's Erdogan of jailing Germans as hostages
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Erdogan tells Turks living in Germany not to vote for Angela Merkel
****
![[Image: g170818b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170818b.jpg)
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The rapidly deteriorating relations between Germany and Turkey took
another bizarre twist on Friday when Turkey's president called on
Turks living in Germany not to vote for the Christian Democrat Party
(CDU) the party headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, or for any party
that supports Merkel. Speaking after Friday prayers in Istanbul,
Erdogan said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"I call on fellow Turks in Germany not to vote for the
> CDU, the SPD or the Greens, which are all hostile to
> Turkey. Support those who are not enemies of Turkey. ...
>
> I think Turkish voters should teach a necessary lesson at the
> ballot box to those political parties who are so aggressive and
> disrespectful toward Turkey."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Merkel will be running for a fourth term in the upcoming elections on
September 24. Merkel rejected Erdogan's "meddling," and said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"German voters, including the ones with Turkish
> background, have a right to vote freely. We will not stand for
> any kind of interference."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Yeni Safak (Ankara) and Deutsche Welle and BBC
****
**** Germany accuses Erdogan of extortion by 'hostage diplomacy'
****
Erdogan's speech was probably prompted by a statement on Thursday by
Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel accusing Turkey of
practicing "hostage diplomacy" by arresting foreign nationals on bogus
charges and then holding them in prison while demanding the
extradition of someone he claims was part of last year's July 2016
aborted coup.
In February, Turkey arrested Deniz Yücel, a Turkish-German political
correspondent working for Die Welt, accused of reporting on the
activities of the Kurds in Turkey. Erdogan has accused Yücel and
other foreign nationals of terrorist activities. In July, Erdogan
ordered the arrest of Peter Steudtner, a German human rights activist
in Turkey.
The arrest of Steudtner caused Sigmar Gabriel told a press conference
that it was no longer safe for German people and businesses to travel
to Turkey.
On Thursday Gabriel was asked by Yücel had not been released. His
response:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Because Turkey, in my opinion, holds him as a
> hostage."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
In fact, Erdogan is holding a number of German and American nationals
on bogus charges. In particular, North Carolina Christian pastor
Andrew Brunson was imprisoned on October 7 of last year, on charges of
"membership in an armed terrorist organization," with no evidence
whatsoever. When President Trump met with Erdogan in May, Trump asked
that the Turkish government “expeditiously” return Brunson to the
United States.
What Erdogan wants to do is force the US to extradite Felhullah Gülen
back to Turkey. Gülen is a 76-year-old political enemy of Erdogan,
living since 1999 in self-imposed exile in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania,
after splitting with Erdogan. Erdogan claims that Gülen orchestrated
the coup from his easy chair at his resort in the Pocono Mountains.
Erdogan arrested or fired over 100,000 people since the coup on vague
charges. Anyone could be arrested for any reason. If someone's child
went to one of Gülen's schools, then the child's parents could be
arrested.
As I've written in the past,
Erdogan's claims make no sense. For one thing, Erdogan started
shutting down media and arresting reporters months before the
attempted coup even occurred. After the coup attempt, Erdogan moved
so quickly to arrest tens of thousands of people that it was pretty
clear that the arrests had been planned all along, just waiting an
excuse to execute them.
The reason that Erdogan has been arresting American, German and other
nationals and holding them hostage is to use them as bargaining chips
to force the extradition of Turks in other countries. Erdogan wants
to force the US to extradite Gülen, even though Erdogan has been
unable to provide evidence to satisfy a US court that Gülen had
anything to do with the coup attempt.
From Germany, Erdogan wants to extradite a prominent cleric, Adil
Öksüz. Erdogan accuses Öksüz of being a middleman between Gülen and
coup plotters. Erdogan claims that he's provided Germany with 1,500
documents, but apparently Germany's courts are also not satisfied that
there's any actual evidence that Öksüz was actually doing what Erdogan
accuses him of.
Recently Erdogan explained his hostage diplomacy by saying that it's
the policy of the "new Turkey," since the "old Turkey" no longer
exists:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Here in Pennsylvania, there is a known charlatan
> [Gülen]. His back team [Öksüz], they are also in Germany, mainly
> in Germany, and they are all around. You feed these terrorists,
> then you get up and say 'Give us Filjan.' Do not look up, if you
> have a reputation, I have a judgment. First you will give it, then
> you will receive it from us. You are not here. There is no old
> Turkey anymore, this Turkey is new Turkey. You should see it as a
> flag race."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
There's a little lost in translation, but apparently "You feed these
terrorists, then you get up and say 'Give us Filjan'" is an accusation
that the US and Germany feed the terrorists, and then demand that
prisoners like Brunson, Yücel, and Steudtner.
Erdogan has promised that after the September 24 elections in Germany,
relations between Turkey and Germany will improve. Erdogan is
assuming that Merkel will lose in the election, but even if she does,
it seems unlikely that the new Chancellor will give into hostage
extortion from Turkey, and so relations are expected to continue
worsening.
As I've been writing for years, Generational Dynamics predicts that
the coming Clash of Civilizations world war will pit the US, India,
Russia, Iran and the West against China, Pakistan, and the Sunni
Muslim countries, including Turkey. Worsening relations between
Turkey and Germany are following that trend line. BuzzFeed and Anadolu (Ankara) (Trans) and Asheboro NC Courier-Tribune and Arab News
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Fethullah Gülen, Fetullahist Terror Organization, FETÖ,
Germany, Angela Merkel, Sigmar Gabriel, Peter Steudtner,
Deniz Yücel, Andrew Brunson, Adil Öksüz
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Erdogan tells Turks living in Germany not to vote for Angela Merkel
- Germany accuses Erdogan of extortion by 'hostage diplomacy'
****
**** Erdogan tells Turks living in Germany not to vote for Angela Merkel
****
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The rapidly deteriorating relations between Germany and Turkey took
another bizarre twist on Friday when Turkey's president called on
Turks living in Germany not to vote for the Christian Democrat Party
(CDU) the party headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, or for any party
that supports Merkel. Speaking after Friday prayers in Istanbul,
Erdogan said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"I call on fellow Turks in Germany not to vote for the
> CDU, the SPD or the Greens, which are all hostile to
> Turkey. Support those who are not enemies of Turkey. ...
>
> I think Turkish voters should teach a necessary lesson at the
> ballot box to those political parties who are so aggressive and
> disrespectful toward Turkey."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Merkel will be running for a fourth term in the upcoming elections on
September 24. Merkel rejected Erdogan's "meddling," and said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"German voters, including the ones with Turkish
> background, have a right to vote freely. We will not stand for
> any kind of interference."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Yeni Safak (Ankara) and Deutsche Welle and BBC
****
**** Germany accuses Erdogan of extortion by 'hostage diplomacy'
****
Erdogan's speech was probably prompted by a statement on Thursday by
Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel accusing Turkey of
practicing "hostage diplomacy" by arresting foreign nationals on bogus
charges and then holding them in prison while demanding the
extradition of someone he claims was part of last year's July 2016
aborted coup.
In February, Turkey arrested Deniz Yücel, a Turkish-German political
correspondent working for Die Welt, accused of reporting on the
activities of the Kurds in Turkey. Erdogan has accused Yücel and
other foreign nationals of terrorist activities. In July, Erdogan
ordered the arrest of Peter Steudtner, a German human rights activist
in Turkey.
The arrest of Steudtner caused Sigmar Gabriel told a press conference
that it was no longer safe for German people and businesses to travel
to Turkey.
On Thursday Gabriel was asked by Yücel had not been released. His
response:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Because Turkey, in my opinion, holds him as a
> hostage."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
In fact, Erdogan is holding a number of German and American nationals
on bogus charges. In particular, North Carolina Christian pastor
Andrew Brunson was imprisoned on October 7 of last year, on charges of
"membership in an armed terrorist organization," with no evidence
whatsoever. When President Trump met with Erdogan in May, Trump asked
that the Turkish government “expeditiously” return Brunson to the
United States.
What Erdogan wants to do is force the US to extradite Felhullah Gülen
back to Turkey. Gülen is a 76-year-old political enemy of Erdogan,
living since 1999 in self-imposed exile in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania,
after splitting with Erdogan. Erdogan claims that Gülen orchestrated
the coup from his easy chair at his resort in the Pocono Mountains.
Erdogan arrested or fired over 100,000 people since the coup on vague
charges. Anyone could be arrested for any reason. If someone's child
went to one of Gülen's schools, then the child's parents could be
arrested.
As I've written in the past,
Erdogan's claims make no sense. For one thing, Erdogan started
shutting down media and arresting reporters months before the
attempted coup even occurred. After the coup attempt, Erdogan moved
so quickly to arrest tens of thousands of people that it was pretty
clear that the arrests had been planned all along, just waiting an
excuse to execute them.
The reason that Erdogan has been arresting American, German and other
nationals and holding them hostage is to use them as bargaining chips
to force the extradition of Turks in other countries. Erdogan wants
to force the US to extradite Gülen, even though Erdogan has been
unable to provide evidence to satisfy a US court that Gülen had
anything to do with the coup attempt.
From Germany, Erdogan wants to extradite a prominent cleric, Adil
Öksüz. Erdogan accuses Öksüz of being a middleman between Gülen and
coup plotters. Erdogan claims that he's provided Germany with 1,500
documents, but apparently Germany's courts are also not satisfied that
there's any actual evidence that Öksüz was actually doing what Erdogan
accuses him of.
Recently Erdogan explained his hostage diplomacy by saying that it's
the policy of the "new Turkey," since the "old Turkey" no longer
exists:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Here in Pennsylvania, there is a known charlatan
> [Gülen]. His back team [Öksüz], they are also in Germany, mainly
> in Germany, and they are all around. You feed these terrorists,
> then you get up and say 'Give us Filjan.' Do not look up, if you
> have a reputation, I have a judgment. First you will give it, then
> you will receive it from us. You are not here. There is no old
> Turkey anymore, this Turkey is new Turkey. You should see it as a
> flag race."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
There's a little lost in translation, but apparently "You feed these
terrorists, then you get up and say 'Give us Filjan'" is an accusation
that the US and Germany feed the terrorists, and then demand that
prisoners like Brunson, Yücel, and Steudtner.
Erdogan has promised that after the September 24 elections in Germany,
relations between Turkey and Germany will improve. Erdogan is
assuming that Merkel will lose in the election, but even if she does,
it seems unlikely that the new Chancellor will give into hostage
extortion from Turkey, and so relations are expected to continue
worsening.
As I've been writing for years, Generational Dynamics predicts that
the coming Clash of Civilizations world war will pit the US, India,
Russia, Iran and the West against China, Pakistan, and the Sunni
Muslim countries, including Turkey. Worsening relations between
Turkey and Germany are following that trend line. BuzzFeed and Anadolu (Ankara) (Trans) and Asheboro NC Courier-Tribune and Arab News
Related Articles
- Relations between Germany and Turkey spiral into crisis (21-Jul-2017)
- Turkey's Erdogan gives himself dictatorial powers, moving Turkey away from the West (22-Jul-2016)
- Turkey's 'shameful day for free press' as government seizes Zaman media (06-Mar-2016)
- More than a million of secularists rally in Turkey (14-May-2007)
- Turkey debates Islam versus secularism (26-Feb-2010)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Fethullah Gülen, Fetullahist Terror Organization, FETÖ,
Germany, Angela Merkel, Sigmar Gabriel, Peter Steudtner,
Deniz Yücel, Andrew Brunson, Adil Öksüz
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
