Germany Refuses Turkey’s Request to Spy on Opponents of Erdogan
The news agency Reuters reported from Stockholm that the public broadcaster SR said
that Mr. Erdogan’s government was putting unspecified pressure on Swedish Gulen supporters — through the Union of Turkish European Democrats, a lobbying group that German intelligence said had ties to Mr. Erdogan’s party — to inform on colleagues.
In fact, rather than pursuing the request, German authorities have warned some Turks living in Germany
that they may face difficulties in Turkey after being identified by the Turkish government as Gulen supporters.
But the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported
that Turkey’s justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, said a week ago that Mr. Kahl, the foreign intelligence chief, had made "a mockery of Turkish people’s intelligence" by rejecting Turkey’s evidence on Gulen supporters.
Norbert Lammert, president of the Bundestag, or lower house of Parliament, said in a speech on Monday
that the Turkish referendum scheduled for April 16 aimed at "transforming an undoubtedly fragile but democratic system into an authoritarian system — and this second coup attempt may well be successful." A report on Swedish radio suggested that Turkey’s efforts to press its European allies over Gulen supporters reached well beyond Germany.
By ALISON SMALEMARCH 28, 2017
BERLIN — German officials acknowledged on Tuesday that they had rebuffed a request by the Turkish government to spy on its opponents in Germany,
the latest strain to relations as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey pursues a referendum next month to expand his powers.
Tensions between Turkey and a range of European countries have mounted in recent weeks as the Turkish government, in effect, seeks to broaden the scope
of its activities among Turks living in Europe, who can also cast votes in the referendum, which Mr. Erdogan is by no means assured of winning.
