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. <br /> <br />"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. <br /> <br />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. <br /> <br />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. <br /> <br />Erdogan accused the Die Welt journalist, Deniz Yucel, who was detained last week, of being "a terrorist". <br /> <br />"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. <br /> <br />Erdogan's harsh words reflect the heated climate in Turkey since a failed army attempt to topple the president took place in July 2016. <br /> <br />Mass arrests and dismissals in professions from the military to academia, journalism to science have been heavily criticised in the West. <br /> <br />Erdogan's remarks could win support among many of those who see Turkey threatened by militant attacks and abandoned by allies. <br /> <br />But they may damage economic ties at a time when Turkey faces rising unemployment and inflation.
