Merkel
urges Turks not to bring conflicts to Germany
Chancellor
Angela Merkel on Sunday urged people of Turkish origin living in
Germany to take part in German society and not to bring conflicts
taking place back in Turkey to Germany.
Sun
Aug 28, 2016 12:36pm EDT
Relations between
Berlin and Ankara, a key partner for the European Union in stemming
the flow of migrants to Europe, are already tense after Germany's
parliament branded the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces
as genocide and a leaked government report alleged Turkey was a hub
for Islamist groups.
Germany is home to
about 3 million people of Turkish origin.
"I keep saying
that I'm their chancellor too and I think it's important to profess
that and it's good if that is reciprocated by commitment to our
country and not by bringing conflicts from Turkey to Germany,"
Merkel said in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.
Since a failed
military coup in Turkey on July 15, tensions have mounted in
Germany's Turkish community between supporters of Turkish President
Tayyip Erdogan and those of a U.S.-based cleric that he blames for
the coup.
Erdogan backers have
demonstrated in several German cities since the thwarted coup, shops
have been boycotted by rival sides and hate mail has been sent to
anti-Erdogan politicians.
Merkel drew
criticism for an interview published in Passauer Neue Presse
newspaper on Tuesday, in which she said: "We expect those with a
Turkish background who have lived in Germany for a long time to
develop a high degree of loyalty to our country."
Some politicians
said it was unnecessarily divisive at a time of tense relations
between Germany and Turkey.
Asked in the ARD
interview about the loyalty comment, Merkel said her main aim was not
to allow conflicts in Turkey to play out in Germany.
"But rather,
those who have been living here for years and perhaps also have
German citizenship, take part in the development of our country and
if they want to they are very welcome to do so," she said,
adding that she could not force them to do so however.
(Reporting by
Michelle Martin and Joseph Nasr; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Adrian
Croft)
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