Mr. Karaahmetoğlu, who do you support in the Turkish elections?
I am of course for the opposition. No Turk who loves this country can vote for Erdoğan.
Do you also support the Greens’ call to vote Erdoğan out of office?
No. I think it’s stupid that a party is making such a call. It’s counterproductive because it doesn’t get anyone to vote for the opposition who wouldn’t have voted anyway. The Greens mobilize the AKP voters. Then they see Erdoğan’s widespread thesis confirms that foreign powers control the opposition.
How do you perceive the mood among Turks in Germany in the week before the election?
There is more interest than last time. I expect a higher voter turnout and an increase in the opposition. Although I believe that Erdoğan in Germany will be at the top again in terms of numbers, but no longer with around 65 percent as in 2018.
Why do you think that?
Because the Turks in Germany also see that the country is on the brink of economic collapse. It’s been going down for at least five years. Even the dumbest can see that.
And what about the smart ones voting for Erdoğan?
The whole thing is of course not a question of intelligence. Most of the Turks in Germany come from Anatolia and the Black Sea, where I come from. These are Islamic-conservative regions, classic Erdoğan country. They consume almost exclusively pro-government mainstream media. Another factor is the discrimination that Turks experience in Germany. This makes them vulnerable to Erdoğan’s propaganda.
The Turkish government also exerts a great deal of influence on the mosques in Germany via the Ditib association. Will this stop if Erdoğan is voted out?
Ditib is an important organization with which I maintain good contact. There is zero tolerance for Islamist extremism. Erdoğan uses Ditib as an instrument, but he also does the same with the central bank, for example. I know many Ditib mosques that are fighting back.
Should Erdoğan actually lose – what does that mean for the influence of the AKP on the lives of German Turks?
I’m sure the influence will decrease significantly.
Why?
The Turks are basically a state-supporting people. They respect the elected head of state. This also applies to Kılıçdaroğlu in the event of an election victory.
And if Erdoğan remains president – what does that mean for the Turkish community in Germany?
Then I fear a further increasing division in the community. With every election won, Erdoğan has become more authoritarian. His work in the German-Turkish community, especially with regard to political opponents, will become even more radical.
The opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is just as nationalist as Erdoğan. He has repeatedly stirred up sentiment against Syrian refugees with racist undertones. Does it really stand for a real change of course?
I don’t think that Kılıçdaroğlu caused a stir with racist resentment, some reports exaggerate that. He said that ways and means must be found to persuade Syrians to return to their homes. 3.6 million refugees from Syria in Turkey pose a challenge to society. Kılıçdaroğlu might take a populist approach to this. But he is not a man of violence.
He has always supported Erdoğan’s war policy in northern Syria. Will violence continue unabated under a President Kılıçdaroğlu?
Also Kilicdaroglu will fight the terrorist organization PKK. In contrast to Erdoğan, however, he will not carry out any military actions in order to score points domestically. If he had openly criticized the operations in Syria, Erdoğan would have portrayed him as a traitor. He had to act pragmatically.
Turkey keeps bombing civilians, even shortly after the earthquakes in the Kurdish areas in early February. Don’t you have to criticize that?
If the PKK branch in northern Syria claims something, then I would doubt the veracity. But of course, after a catastrophe like the earthquake, such military actions are not a gesture of humanism.
For the first time in Turkey’s history, an alliance of left-wing Kurds, social democrats and ultra-nationalists is standing in the elections. Will this unusual alliance last beyond Election Day?
I do not accept the word ultranationalists for the IYI party. It’s patriotic, not ultra-nationalist. Incidentally, the Kurdish HDP is not part of the alliance. But to your question: Yes, the various parties in the alliance are very different. But I am confident that in the event of an election victory, everyone involved will be aware of their responsibility, at least for a transitional period.
