Germany says local authorities decide on gatherings after HDP rally in Cologne

Germany's federal government said local authorities make the call over holding gatherings or events while commenting on a rally of the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Cologne after banning events by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

Germany was heavily criticized by Turkey for being hypocritical after allowing an HDP rally in Cologne this week, a month after German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced that his country would not allow Turkish politicians to carry out election campaign rallies ahead of the upcoming June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Speaking at a news conference in the capital Berlin on Monday, Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Adebahr recalled that the federal government decided last year not to allow foreign politicians to hold political rallies in Germany, within three months of elections in their respective countries, and underlined that this rule was still in place.

Asked about Saturday's rally in Cologne, which was organized by the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and backed by PKK terror group's supporters, Adebahr argued that permitting or prohibiting specific events does not fall under the jurisdiction of federal government.

"Granting permission to specific gatherings or events fall under the jurisdiction of local municipalities and authorities," she claimed.

During the event, German police also did not permit HDP politicians Ahmet Yıldırım and Tuğba Hezer, who were previously stripped of lawmaker statuses by the Turkish Parliament, from speaking during the rally.

Yıldırım and Hezer were stripped of their titles after because of definitive court rulings that convicted them of terror and defamation charges and non-attendance to parliamentary sessions, respectively.

Turgut Öker, a former HDP candidate, spoke during the event.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also criticized Berlin's move during his speech in eastern Erzurum province on Saturday for using the ban only on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) events and rallies and said: "Those who ban the AK Party campaign events are allowing the HDP, the front force of the PKK, the YPG [People's Protection Units - the PKK's Syrian affiliate] to hold rallies.

Facing bans from EU countries, the AK Party instead held an election rally in Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 20, where Erdoğan addressed a crowd of about 20,000 gathering from European cities.

Berlin's insensitivity on issues that vex Ankara, including tolerance to activities by PKK followers across the country and not taking action against Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) members who have sought asylum in the country, have strained ties between the two NATO allies.