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Erdoğan slams German authorities over airport incident

Turkish parliament's deputy speaker delayed in row over travel documents at Cologne airport this week

Ersin Çelik
17:04 - 7/12/2016 Çarşamba
Update: 18:06 - 7/12/2016 Çarşamba
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Turkey's president hit out at the German authorities on Wednesday over an incident involving a Turkish lawmaker at a German airport earlier this week.



Speaking at a meeting with village heads, mukhtars, on Wednesday, Erdogan said Turkey could retaliate.



Erdoğan's remarks came after the deputy speaker of the Turkish parliament, Ayse Nur Bahcekapili, was stopped by police at Cologne airport in Germany on Monday.



Bahcekapili told Anadolu Agency that after her bag containing her passport went missing, the Turkish embassy provided her with a temporary travel document.



However, police officers at the airport did not accept the temporary passport, made her wait and attempted to detain her, suspecting the Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker of having entered the country illegally



"It was impolite in terms of my country… I am a lawmaker of this country [Turkey]. If we show respect and courtesy to German or foreign parliamentarians, we have a natural right to expect respect and courtesy in the same way," Bahcekapili said.



Speaking on Wednesday, Erdogan angrily hit out at the German authorities:



"You allow terrorists and welcome them, put them up, but you make our deputy parliament speaker and delegation wait at the gate for hours."



“Don't we have to retaliate now? Then you call Erdogan 'dictator'," the president added.



"If you behave towards my deputy parliament speaker, a female lawmaker, like this, if your police officer does this, then I need to retaliate to it in the same way," Erdogan said.



Erdogan also said Turkey's economy was being “attacked" at key times, such as when Turkish operations in Syria or Iraq were making gains or when a proposed change to a presidential system arose.



"They directed this economic weapon to us at a time … when Turkey is about to take significant decisions about European Union," he added.



Praising Turkish people for their response to a call to use Turkish lira to increase the value of the local currency, Erdogan said the rise of foreign exchange values against the lira had no “tangible, serious financial reason".



Last Friday, the president called on Turkish citizens to convert their foreign exchange savings into Turkish lira and gold to help boost the value of the local currency.



#Ayse Nur Bahcekapili
#Germany
#Recep Tayyip Erdogan
7 yıl önce