The ethnic bomb in Europe is already ticking to the rhythm of Erdoğan’s words

Since Turkey has become a hostile country to Europe, Turkish citizens in Germany, Belgium and in the Netherlands as well as Germans, Belgians and the Dutch of Turkish descent may be used by the relentless President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan against European governments and states. The Turkish diaspora in Germany alone makes up three million people and most of them support the presidential AKP party. The political clout of Turks living in Europe could be seen in Cologne, where 40 or even 50 thousand Erdoğan’s supporters gathered, waving Turkish flags. It was the Turkish President’s test or show of force, whose message to Angela Merkel was: “Watch out what you are doing, because refugees are not my only weapon”.

Tensions in Turkey have been present in Europe for a very long time. So far, clashes between Turks and Kurds have been the government’s main concern, as 14,000 Kurds in Germany are supposed to be active supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)¹⁾Germany fears return of Turkish-Kurdish violence on its soil, Source: Reuters 2016-04-13. At present it is the hostility between German and Turkish citizens (or Germans of Turkish descent) that is to be reckoned with. Recently the conflict has entered the realm of economy, as German business is going to ‘rethink’ its Turkish ties.²⁾German Firms Rethink Turkish Ties, Source: Handelsblatt 2016-08-03

Turkey is not a democratic country any more, even if Erdoğan’s supporters gathered in Cologne for the express purpose to defend ‘democracy’. The situation in Turkey is far worse than in Russia, which is regarded as a main ‘threat’ to Europe. Western media has accused Vladimir Putin of creating a secret army in Germany³⁾Putin’s ‘secret sleepers’ waiting for a signal, Source DW 2016-04-18 (which is not impossible), what then would they call the thousands of Muslim Turks convinced that Erdoğan is the hero of Turkey and Islam? His one word might suffice to instigate them to defend Turkish interests all over the world.

The aversion to each other between conservative Germans (like these attending anti-immigration rallies of the PEGIDA movement) and conservative Turks will be rising. Cem Özdemir, Germany’s Green Party co-leader, claims that “German politicians need to treat radical Turkish nationalist groups with the same caution as radical right-wing groups,” as ‘Erdogan’s ideology’ is spread in Germany through the Turkish mosque organization DITIB.⁴⁾Green party head warns about ‘Turkish PEGIDA’ in Germany, Source: DW 2016-07-24 The ethnic bomb is being filled with powder and soon one spark could be enough for riots to erupt.

Problems with Turkish minority may break out not only in Germany, but also in the Netherlands, Belgium or France. In many European cities we have seen demonstrations supporting Turkey’s President after the failed coup and both Dutch and Belgian politicians were accused by Ankara of supporting Gülenists, Erdoğan’s enemies. In many European cities tensions among Turks as well as between Turks and native Europeans may be used by Erdoğan in a political battle with Berlin or Paris. Will Germans be so patient, seeing a sea of Turkish flags on German streets if the President of Turkey openly harasses Germany?