Erdoğan not welcome to campaign in Austria, says Foreign Minister

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been given the cold shoulder by Austrian foreign minister, according to Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star. Though Sebastian Kurz said the Turkish leader was welcome for bilateral talks, all campaign rhetoric was off the table.

He was referring to the upcoming Turkish referendum in April of 2017, which critics claim will compromise any existing checks-and-balances in the Turkish government and give too much power to the president. Austria has a population of between 200,00-300,000 Turks, according to Minority Rights Group International.

Erdoğan has come under fire for what many people say is his increasingly authoritarian regime. After the failed coup last July, he purged government institutions and used the incident to consolidate power.

World leaders, especially in Europe and the West, have been reluctant to condemn Erdogan’s power grab because of his refugee bargaining chip; Turkey houses over 2.5 million Syrian refugees, the largest of any country, and is the gateway to Europe.

Erdogan’s regime, in addition to targeting activists in the aftermath of the coup attempt and imposing a State of Emergency (which means more power for him) has been accused of brutalizing ethnic Kurds and waging an unfair war in southeastern Turkey under the guise of fighting terror.

LM

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