Germany’s small western state of Saarland has announced Tuesday that it has decided to ban political rallies held by Turkish politicians, APA reports quoting Anadolu agency.
Saarland’s state premier Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has claimed that appearances by Turkish politicians in Germany ahead of Turkey’s constitutional referendum next month would undermine social harmony in the country.
“Internal conflicts of Turkey have no place in Germany. Election appearances which endanger domestic peace in our country should be banned,” she said in a press release.
Saarland, which is one of Germany’s smallest federal states, has taken the controversial decision ahead of state elections on March 26.
The state bordering France has a small Turkish community. Nevertheless, it has become the first federal state imposing such a general ban.
Nearly 3 million Turkish immigrants live in Germany and around half are eligible to vote in Turkey’s April 16 referendum on the proposed constitutional change for a transition to a presidential system.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has so far rejected calls by opposition parties for a general ban on campaign rallies by Turkish politicians, provided that German laws and regulations are respected.
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