Official Berlin reacts to Erdogan mocking video: Turkey should abide by European values
Germany and the EU have asked Ankara to stop curtailing free speech after it protested a political satire video released in Germany, Deutsche Welle reports.
"I think we can expect (this) from a partner nation of the EU, especially when we are currently opening further accession chapters and intend to discuss them," German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier told reporters.
The source reminds, that controversy erupted between the two countries last week after German public broadcaster NDR aired a two-minute video, titled “Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan” featuring footage from recent history in Turkey criticized Erdogan's increased crackdown on the freedom of the press and hostile policies in the region, including Turkey’s support for Islamic State.
Turkish administration summoned German Ambassador Martin Erdmann to lodge its protest and demanded to delete the video, while the authors of the video added English subtitles instead.
According to the source, in his speech on Wednesday, Steinmeier refuted the opposition's claim that Germany had kept quiet about the problem because of Turkey's important role in taking back refugees coming to Europe. "That is just not true," he said, adding that Germany's Ambassador to Ankara, Erdmann, as well as other high-ranking state officials had communicated Berlin's opinion on the issue in Turkey.
Meanwhile, the European Commission's head, Jean-Claude Juncker, also protested the summons, saying that Turkey had only succeeded in further distancing itself from the EU.