ANKARA: Turkey on Friday accused Germany of working for a "No" vote ahead of an April referendum on whether to boost President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers in an executive presidency.
"They don't want Turkey to campaign here, they are working for a 'No'. They want to get in the way of a strong Turkey," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara after German local authorities blocked rallies where Turkish ministers were due to speak.
The Turkish public will vote on April 16 on whether to create a system which Ankara says will be like that of France and the United States and ensure political stability.
However, critics say the system will weaken parliament further and lead to one-man rule.
Tensions have increased in recent days between Turkey and Berlin after Ankara's provisional detention of a German journalist on terrorism-related charges on Monday.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag scrapped his visit to address the Turkish community in the western German town of Gaggenau on Thursday after local authorities withdrew an agreement to allow the rally.
He had also been due to meet his German counterpart.
Cologne city authorities meanwhile said they would no longer allow the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) to use a hall on Sunday, when Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci was expected to make a speech.
The row deepened after the Turkish government summoned Germany's ambassador to Ankara on Thursday in protest at the cancellation of the rallies.
Cavusoglu hit back at the moves by German officials, accusing them of double standards and failing to "honour democracy, freedom of expression or freedom of assembly".
Ahead of an election later this year, Cavusoglu warned Germany to "stay far away from populism" and told Germany it would "need to learn how to behave towards Turkey" if Berlin wanted to maintain relations.
"You must see us as an equal partner," he added.
Turkey says Berlin working against bid to boost Erdogan powers
Turkey says Berlin working against bid to boost Erdogan powers
Libya says UK to analyze black box from crash that killed general
- General Mohammed Al-Haddad and 4 aides died after visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying electrical failure caused the Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff
TRIPOLI: Libya said on Thursday that Britain had agreed to analyze the black box from a plane crash in Turkiye on December 23 that killed a Libyan military delegation, including the head of its army.
General Mohammed Al-Haddad and four aides died after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying an electrical failure caused their Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff.
Three crew members, two of them French, were also killed.
The aircraft’s black box flight recorder was found on farmland near the crash site.
“We coordinated directly with Britain for the analysis” of the black box, Mohamed Al-Chahoubi, transport minister in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said at a press conference in Tripoli.
General Haddad was very popular in Libya despite deep divisions between west and east.
The North African country has been split since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Haddad was chief of staff for the internationally recognized GNU, which controls the west. The east is run by military ruler Khalifa Haftar.
Chahoubi told AFP a request for the analysis was “made to Germany, which demanded France’s assistance” to examine the aircraft’s flight recorders.
“However, the Chicago Convention stipulates that the country analizing the black box must be neutral,” he said.
“Since France is a manufacturer of the aircraft and the crew was French, it is not qualified to participate. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was accepted by Libya and Turkiye.”
After meeting the British ambassador to Tripoli on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Taher Al-Baour said a joint request had been submitted by Libya and Turkiye to Britain “to obtain technical and legal support for the analysis of the black box.”
Chahoubi told Thursday’s press briefing that Britain “announced its agreement, in coordination with the Libyan Ministry of Transport and the Turkish authorities.”
He said it was not yet possible to say how long it would take to retrieve the flight data, as this depended on the state of the black box.
“The findings will be made public once they are known,” Chahoubi said, warning against “false information” and urging the public not to pay attention to rumors.
