Erdogan accuses Germany of 'harboring terrorists'

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused Germany of ‘harboring terrorists,’ following criticism of a crackdown on Turkish media by the latter’s Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“I do not foresee a fortunate fate for Germany which, defying other countries’ national security sensitivities, had become a country that embraces terrorists instead of fighting the PKK, FETO, Da’esh, and racist organizations,” said Erdogan in a speech at his Ankara palace.

Merkel on Wednesday had labeled a wave of arrests of journalists and media executives by Turkish authorities as “highly alarming.”

In response, Erdogan claimed that after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Germany had now become a hub for the followers of the US-based Muslim Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen’s movement which he calls “FETO.”

Moreover, the Turkish President continues to hold Gulen’s movement responsible for orchestrating the failed July 15 military coup attempt.

“We are worried that Germany has become a backyard for the FETO. As I always say, terror organizations are like scorpions. Eventually, they turn and bite those who carry them on their backs,” Erdogan stated, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

“Now [Merkel is] kibitzing us, telling us that they are ‘worried.’ Germany, we are worried by your stance. You are now collaborating with terror,” he continued.

“The trouble of terror will one day hit you like a boomerang. You will always be remembered in history with abetting terror,” the Turkish President added.

Additionally, Erdogan also attacked Merkel for not extraditing some of his countrymen in Germany who he called “terrorists.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany