Merkel ups demand that Turkey drop Nazi swipes

20 March 2017, 8:54 pm

Edit

Chancellor Angela Merkel says her demand that Turkey cease drawing Nazi comparisons with Germany and its allies applies “without ifs or buts,” and pointed to a government threat last week that it could prevent Turkish politicians entering the country.

A man reads an issue of Gunes, a Turkish pro-government daily newspaper, with on its front page German Chancellor Angela Merkel depicted in Nazi uniform with a Hitler-style mustache, labeling the German leader "She Hitler", on March 17, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. (AFP PHOTO / YASIN AKGUL) — A man reads an issue of Gunes, a Turkish pro-government daily newspaper, with on its front page German Chancellor Angela Merkel depicted in Nazi uniform with a Hitler-style mustache, labeling the German leader “She Hitler”, on March 17, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. (AFP PHOTO / YASIN AKGUL)

Merkel’s comments come after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused her personally of “committing Nazi practices” — an assertion that the head of Germany’s main Jewish organization described as “monstrous.”

Sunday’s accusation was the latest escalation in a string of comments by Turkish officials drawing Nazi parallels with present-day Germany and the Netherlands in a dispute over restrictions on Turkish ministers campaigning there for an upcoming referendum.

— AP