A German satirical magazine has mocked the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by publishing the Turkish leader's photo with a large sausage photoshopped over his private areas on a front cover. The front page reads: "Erdogan is stressed: Even his penis is staging a putsch" (in German).
Kaft van tijdschrift Titanic, deze week… #Erdogan pic.twitter.com/3UEacnwbc3
— PeterAnshof (@PeterAnshof) 30 июля 2016 г.
As a controversial attempt to boost sales, the magazine has advised the readers on its Facebook page to buy the August issue before "the Chancellor Tayyip Merkel bans Titanic."
Notably, this publication came after the Turkish president announced he is going to withdraw all lawsuits against people charged with insulting him.
"I am going to withdraw all the cases regarding the disrespectful insults made against me," he said on Friday as cited by AFP. Erdogan added it was a one-off gesture of goodwill, inspired by the feelings of popular unity in the wake of the attempted coup.
Earlier this year, comedian Jan Bohmermann read a so-called "poem" on his public broadcast show, claiming Erdogan was into "bestiality" and "child porn" while "kicking Kurds." The German government said the poem has been "offensive" and ordered Bohmermann to be prosecuted under a rarely enforced law.
The publication in Titanic may also be related to the upcoming pro-Erdogan rally in Cologne, which already sparked massive controversy among German citizens and authorities. Some 15,000 protesters are expected to turn up for the rallies of both pro-Erdogan and anti-Erdogan activists.
There are some 3 million Turks or people of Turkish origin living in Germany now. Thousands of them have already gathered on German streets to support Erdogan ahead of 2014 elections in Turkey.
While many people criticize the upcoming rally, in connection to Erdogan's crackdown on media and opposition that followed the recent failed coup attempt, the police of Cologne states that freedom of peaceful demonstrations is a basic right of German citizens, and "banning protests is only an option in exceptional cases".
Andreas Scheuer, Secretary General of the Christian Social Union (CSU), said that political tensions regarding a foreign state should not take place in Germany. He proposed both the critics and supporters of Turkish President to leave for Turkey and perform their activities there.
"Turkish domestic politics have no right to be on German soil," he said.
