| He might be more popular than Merkel in Germany right now... |
At the same time, several smaller counter-demonstrations are to take place, including one billed “Stop Erdoğan” and another called by far-right activists, raising fears the demonstrators could clash. Security services in Germany sought to head off any potential violence between the different camps, with about 2,700 officers – including several Turkish speakers – deployed to keep the peace.
Cologne’s police chief, Jürgen Mathies, said: “One thing I want to make clear is that we will intervene against any kind of violence quickly, decisively and forcefully.”
Erdoğan enjoys a large support base among the diaspora in Germany, home to about 1.5 million people with Turkish nationality who can vote in Turkish elections. His Justice and Development party (AKP) garnered 60% of the vote in Germany in last November’s election, a bigger share than in Turkey.
| So the Turkish community in Germany is either 1.5 million or 3 million... |
| Turkish children too young to vote? Deutsche Welle reports on the rally, and a bit about the counter-rallies. Some key points: o Estimate of 20,000 participants; many brought in, busses from as far away as England o Crowd knew Turkish anthem, but not German anthem o Anger that Erdogan was not permitted to give televised speech o Chants of "Allahu Akbar" and "Yallah Islam" o Turkish flags handed out to participants, but there were also lots of Erdogan and AKP signs |