Urgent call over Turkey

Rebecca Harms, chair of the Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament, has called for an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the latest developments in Turkey. Rebecca Harms, who came to Turkey and paid a solidarity visit to Cumhuriyet newspaper, told the German news agency DPA that it would not be effective if EU countries were simply to convey their concerns over the latest developments in Turkey through diplomatic channels. She stated that the EU must make a joint response to the crushing of the opposition in Turkey.
 
Compared to a coup monger
The German Sunday newspaperWelt am Sonntag, having a circulation of 450,000, devoted its fourth page to the latest developments in Turkey. Making reference in the headline “Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Reich” to Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, it spoke of Erdoğan as being a “coup monger”. The newspaper, noting that Erdoğan has changed his country in the aftermath of 15 July, and that alongside the dismissals and remands of civil servants 155 media outlets have been closed and 42 journalists have been detained, commented, “Turkey under Erdoğan’s rule has moved away from Europe and democracy, nobody feels secure that they are immune from Erdoğan’s vengeance, opponents are in a hopeless position, people make ever more frequent reference to fascism and there remains neither a judiciary nor media that is independent of the government.
Solidarity from Germans
The German Federation of Journalists (DJV) launched a campaign of solidarity with journalists in Turkey at its annual convention in Bonn. The DJV, which released 200 white balloons bearing the message “Journalism is not a crime” and put up a post and footage on social media, sent a postcard with the same message to Turkey’s Berlin Embassy.
Joke at the Zaytung site
Zaytung, voicing the opinion, “People in Turkey see Europe as the source of hope, because Europe is in possession of a great tool for exerting pressure. The migrant agreement,” recalled one of its old jokes, “Stop Press – Serious warning from the intelligence service to 81 provinces: Anything could happen any time!” and commented: “This was no exaggeration. In Turkey anything really can happen any time.”