Rising Neo-Nazi tendencies, xenophobia, Islamophobia have all contributed to the gains of far-right ideological movements in Germany and this is working against the foreigners in general and the Turks in particular
Turkish Parliament Deputy Speaker Ayşe Nur Bahçekapılı of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has been the center of a passport controversy in Germany which has once again angered Turks at home and abroad.
Bahçekapılı went to Germany for a visit to Cologne and had her belongings stolen along with her passport. So the Turkish consulate issued her a new temporary passport to leave the country but the immigration police made life hell for her when she was at the airport to fly back to Turkey. They treated her like an illegal immigrant despite her protests that she was a Turkish parliamentarian…Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a strong statement saying this kind of attitude displayed by the Germans towards a Turkish dignitary was unacceptable and that Turkey would retaliate to the Germans for such treatment. The German ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and was informed of Ankara's deep disappointment and displeasure over the incident.
The German police then told Deutsche Welle radio that Bahçekapılı was subjected to standard treatment as she had lost her official passport that would have had her visa information and thus was processed accordingly despite her declaration that she was a Turkish official. The German police also did not pay attention to the explanations of the Turkish Airlines staff who tried to explain to them they were handling a person with diplomatic immunity…
But all this should not be a surprise to anyone here in Turkey. We are approaching the issue from a wrong angle.
She was not mistreated because she was a Turkish official or that the Germans had any grudge against Turkish state persons. This was not a personal issue. She was subjected to standard procedures that are applied to all Turks in the same position…
Bahçekapılı was treated the same way as the Germans treat ordinary Turkish travelers. So the issue is not really disrespect or mistreatment of a Turkish official but that Turks are subjected to such extreme treatment if they land in any kind of questionable circumstances at the immigration points. If they are a Turk they get the toughest treatment and face the most adverse conditions… The name of the game for the Germans is: Turks are unwanted, do everything to alienate them and encourage them to go back to Turkey… Added to all this is the rise in Islamophobia which makes the Turks even more unwanted…
It is no secret that rising Neo-Nazi tendencies, xenophobia, Islamophobia have all contributed to the gains of far right ideological movements in Germany and this is working against the foreigners in general and the Turks in particular.
Even Angela Merkel who will be fighting soon for her political survival will be tempted to use the anti-Turkish card in her upcoming political campaigns…
The Kurds and especially those who want secession in Turkey are getting a relatively easier ride as some German politicians openly protect them for various reasons and thus they are shielded against xenophobia…
Behçekapılı has experienced what the ordinary Turk experiences all the time. The German authorities should tell their people, especially their immigration police, to be kind and gentle against Turks yet this is wishful thinking… What is awkward is the person being mistreated is not entering Germany she in fact is leaving it…
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