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Angela Merkel faces call to raise freedom of speech on Turkey visit
Source: The Guardian
Angela Merkel faces call to raise freedom of speech on Turkey visit
Philip Oltermann
Friday 22 April 2016 13.42 BST
Angela Merkel is facing dual pressure to both raise freedom of speech issues and patch up fraying diplomatic relations with Turkey during a visit to Gaziantep province on Saturday.
The issue of visa-free travel, one of the key elements of the month-old deal between the European Union and Turkey, is expected to be at the top of the agenda as the German chancellor visits the country alongside the European Council president, Donald Tusk, and European commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
On Tuesday, Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, threatened to pull out of the deal if no progress was made on the visa arrangement.
But in Germany, Merkel is under growing pressure to show more spine in her dealings with the Turkish government, after giving in to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s request for the comedian Jan Böhmermann to be prosecuted for reading out a poem that insulted the president.
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Philip Oltermann
Friday 22 April 2016 13.42 BST
Angela Merkel is facing dual pressure to both raise freedom of speech issues and patch up fraying diplomatic relations with Turkey during a visit to Gaziantep province on Saturday.
The issue of visa-free travel, one of the key elements of the month-old deal between the European Union and Turkey, is expected to be at the top of the agenda as the German chancellor visits the country alongside the European Council president, Donald Tusk, and European commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
On Tuesday, Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, threatened to pull out of the deal if no progress was made on the visa arrangement.
But in Germany, Merkel is under growing pressure to show more spine in her dealings with the Turkish government, after giving in to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s request for the comedian Jan Böhmermann to be prosecuted for reading out a poem that insulted the president.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/22/angela-merkel-balancing-act-visit-turkey
