Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stepped up his rhetoric against Germany on Sunday (March 5) in a growing row over the cancellation of political rallies aimed at drumming up support for him among the 1.5 million Turks living in Germany.
"They thought Tayyip Erdogan would go to Germany. If I want to come to Germany I will and if you don't let me in through your doors, if you don't let me speak, then I will make the world rise to its feet," Erdogan told a meeting in Istanbul.
German authorities withdrew permission last week for two rallies by Turkish citizens in German cities, at which Turkish ministers were to urge a "Yes" vote in a referendum next month on granting Erdogan sweeping new presidential powers.
The row has dragged relations between the two NATO partners to a new low. At the same time, public outrage is mounting in Germany over Ankara's arrest of a Turkish-German journalist.
Erdogan accused the Die Welt journalist, Deniz Yucel, who was detained last week, of being "a terrorist".
"That man is a terrorist. That man is not a journalist and the German government unfortunately, the German administration equates my ministers with this terrorist," he said.
Erdogan's harsh words reflect the heated climate in Turkey since a failed army attempt to topple the president took place in July 2016.
Mass arrests and dismissals in professions from the military to academia, journalism to science have been heavily criticised in the West.
Erdogan's remarks could win support among many of those who see Turkey threatened by militant attacks and abandoned by allies.
But they may damage economic ties at a time when Turkey faces rising unemployment and inflation.
