Spanning blijft tussen Merkel en Erdogan over integratie (en)
A spat between Ankara and Berlin over the extent to which Turks should integrate into German society is continuing to simmer with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan referring to "bigotry" in Germany.
Speaking to his party base in Turkey on Wednesday (13 February), Mr Erdogan said: "if we do what [German Chancellor] Merkel wants, then we will lose our identity."
According to a report in Financial Times Deutschland, the Turkish leader referred to Istanbul and Ismir, two cities that have decided to set up German universities, and said: "if we asked for the same from them, there would be an outcry."
He said this is due to "bigotry", in a remark that is likely to be interpreted as being directed towards Angela Merkel herself, who recently expressed reservations about setting up Turkish language schools in Germany.
Mr Erdogan's fresh comments came after he angered the chancellor by holding a speech in the western German city of Cologne last weekend telling a Turkish audience that integration in German society is important but that "assimilation is a crime against humanity."
At the moment there are about 2.7 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany. Many of them have integrated fully into German life but many also live in Turkish communities with little contact with the rest of society.
Chancellor Merkel reacted coolly to the speech with several politicians and commentators irritated by the way Mr Erdogan appeared to act as the prime minister of Turks living in Germany.
"If you grow up in Germany in the third or fourth generation, if you have German citizenship, then I am your chancellor," said Ms Merkel.
"I am pleased he [Mr Erdogan] pronounces himself in favour of integration and learning the German language, but long-term life in a country also involves a stronger acceptance of its habits. I don't think we have reached the end of this debate."
She also was not welcoming of Mr Erdogan's idea to set up Turkish language schools in Germany, with teachers provided by Turkey, preferring instead that Germans of Turkish origin do the job.
"I expressed my reservations against Turkish teachers coming to Germany to teach lessons to young people of Turkish origin who live here," she said.
German media have commented that the heightened rhetoric from Mr Erdogan's side is due to his annoyance over Germany and France's unwillingness to see mainly Muslim Turkey become a full EU member state - something Ankara is insisting upon.
In addition, the exchange of comments took place after nine Turkish people - five of them children - died in a fire in an apartment building in the southwestern city of Ludwigshafen with speculation in the media about whether the blaze had been started by German right-wing extremists.