| Ministry: Diplomat left post for holiday |
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ISTANBUL - While it is still ambiguous whether Turkey’s Düsseldorf consul general was forcefully sent on leave or not, Turkish organizations in Germany reacted against the allegations that Hakan Kıvanç was sent on leave due to German pressure.
The head of the Foundation in the city of Wuppertal, İsmail Çoban, who was also at the dinner with consul general Kıvanç where he allegedly called Germans racist, said the allegations against Kıvanç were all wrong, the Anatolia news agency reported. Sending a letter to the relevant German and Turkish authorities, Kıvanç said allegations against Kıvanç are part of a smear campaign against him and the Turkish state. "These kinds of lies will not be helpful for harmony policies," he said.
Two people who attended the dinner later said Kıvanç insulted Germans, while four other guests from the dinner, including Çoban rejected the allegations, Çoban said. However, the German Foreign Ministry took into consideration only the statements of these two people, Çoban said, criticizing the ministry. Kıvanç was alleged to have said at a dinner in February that Germans’ blood is brown and if they could manage they would tattoo a "T’ letter to all Turks’ skins. The German foreign ministry announced that the Turkish Foreign Ministry forced Kıvanç to take a leave from work, while in a statement Friday the Turkish Foreign Ministry denied media stories alleging that Kıvanç was called back. The Foreign Ministry said Kıvanç was on leave.
Meanwhile, İsa İlyasoğlu the head of KRV The Union of Turkish Associations Initiative said the news stories reporting that Kıvanç was forced to take leave were not true. The statement from the German foreign ministry is not true either, İlyasoğlu said. "Our consul general Hakan Kıvanç, upon our advice for him to take leave, has gone for vacation. After his vacation, he will be back on duty," he said. |
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