Rival rallies as Erdogan opens mosque in Cologne

Thousands of demonstrators hit the streets of Cologne Saturday as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened one of Europe’s largest mosques at the end of his visit to Germany, with police out in force to manage rival rallies. The inauguration capped a controversial three-day state visit aimed at repairing frayed ties with Berlin after two years of tensions.

During his stay in Berlin, Erdogan met twice with Angela Merkel for talks, with both leaders signaling their interest in a cautious rapprochement. But the German chancellor stressed that “deep differences” remained on civil rights and other issues. Before returning home, Erdogan traveled to the western city of Cologne where several thousand critics turned out to protest everything from Turkey’s record on human rights and press freedom to its treatment of minority Kurds. At one of the rallies on the bank of the Rhine, demonstrators waved banners reading: “Erdogan not welcome”.

Cansu, a 30-year-old student of Turkish origin, came from Switzerland to join the protest. “I want to be the voice of people who can’t take to the streets in Turkey. Because they have been arrested, killed or otherwise suppressed,” she told AFP. “Erdogan thinks anything that differs from his opinion is terrorism.”

Erdogan supporters meanwhile gathered at the Cologne Central Mosque, an imposing dome-shaped building commissioned by the shadowy, Turkish-controlled Ditib organization. Cologne police cordoned off a large area around the mosque for safety reasons, but thousands of Erdogan supporters spilled into closed-off side streets, eager for a glimpse of the Turkish leader.

Many waved Turkey’s red and white flag or held up pictures of Erdogan, with crowds cheerfully breaking into regular chants of the president’s name or shouting “Who is the greatest? Turkey”.