Ankara calls on Europe to halt tolerance for terrorists

Speaking at his party's weekly group meeting on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pointed out future implications if European countries don't end their leniency toward terrorist groups, which have been freely holding protests against Turkey in various EU countries.

"Europe should acknowledge that the terrorist groups they cherish will eventually direct their hatred and weapons toward them," President Erdoğan said.

He underlined that even though sympathizers of the PKK and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) openly declare their support to the terrorist groups, European countries shy away from taking any steps against them.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by the EU, the U.S. and Turkey. However, some EU countries have ignored the presence of the group in their countries, allowing its followers to hold mass rallies in their cities. The PKK has also used the EU for its financial resources, recruitment and as a safe haven for its leadership. Erdoğan criticized the way German police treated a Turkish citizen, Yusuf Ünsal, who was arrested by while he was protesting a demonstration of the Democratic Union Party (PYD)/PKK group in Stuttgart. Ünsal was forced to the ground by more than five German police officers before being aggressively taken into custody.

The incident was captured by another Turkish citizen, who posted the video on social media.

The terror group's sympathizers were holding anti-Turkey and anti-Erdoğan banners and chanting slogans.

On Sunday, the president phoned the Turkish citizen to check on his well-being. The Presidential Office said in an ensuing statement that Erdoğan received details of the incident directly from Ünsal during their conversation.

Pointing to the double standards in European countries, Erdoğan said that the slightest efforts for events in favor of Turkey have been prevented while anti-Turkey organizations have been allowed and supported. He added that Turkey "is tired of facing the terrorists in the streets of European countries that it was looking for in the mountains."

Germany has a Turkish community of over 3 million, many of whom are second and third generation German-born citizens whose grandparents moved to the country in the 1960s.Following Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria, which targeted the PKK and its Syrian affiliate the People's Protection Units (YPG), the sympathizers of the terrorist groups increased their attacks on the Turkish community living in Europe, particularly in Germany. Many schools, mosques and Turkish establishments were targeted by the supporters of the PKK, putting the lives of Turkish people at risk.

In a recently reported attack, PYD/PKK supporters vandalized two shops owned by Turks and a mosque over the weekend in Darmstadt, Hessen.

Commenting on the incident, the head of the European Turkish-Islamic Union (ATIB), İhsan Öner, said in a statement, "The Turkish community here is about to run out of patience because of such attacks. We are calling everyone for common sense to protect the rights of the Turkish community like any other community."

"Please do not allow those who are trying to disturb the peace," Öner added.

In the face growing security threats posed by the supporters of the PKK and the European countries sluggishness to take measures against it, President Erdoğan stressed that the terrorist groups, in line with their nature, would inevitably harm the ones who support them as well.

The president also called on the Turkish community living abroad to seize opportunities and use their citizenship rights. He also highlighted the significance of being active in politics. He said that Turkey will continue to support its citizens living abroad.