Germany has hit back at explosive remarks by Turkey's prime minister, who
told his compatriots that they should learn Turkish before German and resist
assimilation into German society.
During a visit to
He added: "I want you to
learn German, that your children learn German – they
should study, get degrees. I want you to become doctors, professors and
politicians in
The row
threatened to overshadow Erdogan's
Though his
speech reflected
Erdogan is offering as part of his manifesto a
better deal for Turks abroad – specifically, a new "blue card", which
is a kind of dual nationality identity
card that would allow Turks with German passports more rights back in
It is currently impossible to
hold both German and Turkish passports, and Turks who opt for a German one
often find life difficult if they return to the country of their birth. (Generally this
means working for lower wages and being treated as being impure. On the other
hand these people are causing a lot of strife with German’s seeking to be
oppressors, and committing criminal acts against German’s.
Erdogan's rhetoric seemed to go down well in
Düsseldorf. "The Germans will never accept us but Erdogan
does," one man told Der Spiegel.
Another said: "Finally
someone feels responsible for us. For the first time a Turkish prime minister
is not forgetting his countrymen abroad."
On Saturday, Erdogan
made an even sharper criticism of German immigration policy, telling the Rheinische Post newspaper that forced integration requiring
immigrants to suppress their culture and language violated international law.
Immigration leapt to the
forefront of political debate in 2010 after the central banker Thilo Sarrazin published a
bestselling book that argued German culture was at risk from Muslims, who he
said were a drain on state coffers.
The debate left raw nerves on
both sides. German politicians initially closed ranks to condemn Sarrazin's theories, but later many shifted rightwards in
tone as polls showed he enjoyed widespread support. Sarrazin
later stepped down.
Erdogan's newspaper comments were published
alongside those of a senior German politician who complained of discrimination
against Christians in
The Conservative parliamentary
floor leader, Volker Kauder, told the same paper that
land belonging to a Christian monastery in Turkey known as Mor
Gabriel was being expropriated, which he said showed that the Muslim country
lacked religious freedom.
"I urge the EU to not open
any more negotiation chapters with
Erdogan's speech came before a meeting with Merkel
scheduled for today, where
The two
leaders have a fractious relationship. Last year Merkel made a tense visit to Turkey after Erdogan accused her of harbouring hatred towards Turks.