Reiterating his Nazi accusations against European countries, Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday called Europe fascist again and accused the continent of burning mosques.
Speaking at a rally in İstanbul, Erdoğan said: “You call the president of the Republic of Turkey a dictator. When we call them Nazis, fascists they are disturbed. Are you not the ones who draw swastikas on the walls of our mosques? Have you not burned and destroyed my mosques? You are fascists, fascists!”
In his latest rant against Europe, Erdoğan also slammed a rally against him in Switzerland on Saturday. “They put a gun next to my photo and marched” Erdoğan stated and went on to threaten Europe. “Are you making us sad? You will be sad.”
Following a Kurdish rally in Bern targeting Erdoğan, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Switzerland’s chargé d’affaires in Ankara.
During the rally in front of the Federal Parliament building in Bern, participants, who carried symbols of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the far-leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), also targeted President Erdoğan with a banner showing a gun pointed to his head and the words “Kill Erdogan.”
ERDOĞAN CALLS EUROPEAN UNION ‘ALLIANCE OF CRUSADERS’
Also, criticizing a meeting of European Union (EU) leaders at the Vatican with Pope Francis on Friday, Erdoğan said on Sunday that “the alliance of Crusaders has shown itself in the end,” Milliyet reported.
“EU member states met at the Vatican. These developments recall something. Why did you meet at the Vatican? Why did you meet in front of the pope? When did the pope become a member of the EU? The Alliance of Crusaders has shown itself in the end. That is it. What did you tell us up to now? ‘You repeat this but there is no such thing. Yes, you [EU] do not accept Turkey in the EU because Turkey is Muslim. I have said this now. Look at what will happen tomorrow,” said Erdoğan during a referendum campaign rally in İstanbul’s Sancaktepe.
“Interesting! Both social democrats and Christian democrats participated in the meeting [at the Vatican]. Good grief! What is this? What is this? I have said this, see what they say tomorrow,” added Erdoğan.
Pope Francis received 27 European Union heads of state and government at a private audience in the Vatican’s Sala Regia on Friday evening. The meeting, which was attended by Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, took place on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome.
Turkish politicians have been traveling to Europe to campaign for the April 16 referendum that will greatly expand President Erdoğan’s powers. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium have recently cancelled the rallies, leading to crises between Turkey and European countries.
As tension between European countries and Turkey over a ban on referendum campaign rallies conducted by Turkish ministers persists, President Erdoğan said on Friday that Germany, Switzerland and Belgium lack democracy and freedoms. (SCF with turkishminute.com) March 26, 2017
