Ankara sends protest note to Germany

By Azernews

By Ali Mustafayev

Turkey has sent a protest note to Germany, accusing the country of providing support to a FETO member.

Germany is providing an asylum to Adil Oksuz, a theology professor accused by the Turkish authorities of being an influential figure within the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). He is also among the masterminds of the military coup attempt of July 2016.

Oksuz was arrested in Turkey on July 16, 2016 but was subsequently released and has since disappeared.

Ankara has informed the German authorities that Oksuz is one of the prime suspects of the July 15 defeated coup attempt and an international fugitive.

Ankara also demanded the authorities of Germany to immediately extradite Oksuz to Turkey, Trend reports.

FETO and its leader Gulen are accused of orchestrating the defeated coup of last year, that martyred 250 people and left nearly 2,200 injured. Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Since the 2016 defeated coup attempt, nearly 4,000 FETO suspects have come to Germany from Turkey and other countries, according to Anadolu Agency.

Several FETO suspects, including former soldiers and diplomats, have applied for asylum in various German federal states.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Germany must change its hostile attitude towards Turkey.

Cavusoglu, talking to TRT Haber network, said that an active anti-Turkish propaganda is being held in Germany.

“Turkey does not oppose Germany and sees no reason to spoil relations with that country,” he said. “If there are any problems in the relations, Germany should sit down at the negotiating table and discuss this issue with Turkey," Cavusoglu said.

Earlier, Cavusoglu said that the Bundestag has parliamentarians, who actively support the terrorist Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK).

He claimed that some of them are trying to withdraw the PKK from the list of terrorist organizations.

The ties between Turkey and Germany have been strained since the failed coup in Turkey in July 2016, and tensions have worsened over multiple issues including a referendum campaign to expand Turkish President's powers. German authorities banned some Turkish ministers from campaigning for ethnic Turk votes in Germany during the April referendum. 

The relations deteriorated further after Ankara blocked a group of German lawmakers from visiting the servicemen at the Incirlik Air Base.

Despite further compromise made by the Turkish government regarding the German deputies’ visit to military base in Konya, the relations between the two countries are being strained to date.