As tension between Berlin and Ankara persists over the cancellation of programs in Germany hosted by Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi, another of Zeybekçi’s events was announced to have been cancelled on Friday, Deutsche Welle Türkçe reported.
According to the report, the program planned for Sunday evening in Frechen that Zeybekçi would participate in as speaker was cancelled by the operator of the Golden Palats Salon. It is reported that the contract does not allow use of the salon for political activities.
Another of Zeybekçi’s events in Köln was also cancelled after the Köln Municipality refused to allow use of the salon for the activity.
Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) sources said they are searching for another location for Zeybekçi’s program.
News of the cancellations arrived amid the tension between Turkey and Germany after a program of Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ was cancelled in Germany on Thursday.
The small German town of Gaggenau on Thursday cancelled a speech by Bozdağ set for that evening amid outrage over the arrest in Turkey of Turkish-German reporter Deniz Yücel on charges of terrorism.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşuğlu and his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, decided during a phone call on Friday to meet in Germany on March 8 over the crisis.
On Thursday the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Martin Erdmann, the German ambassador to Ankara, to protest the cancellation of Bozdağ’s program.
Strongly criticizing Berlin, Çavuşoğlu said earlier on Friday that Turkey would retaliate against the German decision.
In a statement on Friday, the German Foreign Ministry said the authority to allow rallies lies with local administrations and that the federal government plays no role in such matters.
Minister Bozdağ reacted against the decision by cancelling a meeting with his German counterpart, also scheduled for Thursday.
Burhan Kuzu, an advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy, has said construction of a third airport in İstanbul has driven Germany crazy because the country sees Turkey as a rival.