Founded before EU elections – Hamas supporters also among the candidates – And in Switzerland?: Erdogan’s party wants to exert influence in Germany

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In the run-up to the European elections in June, a new party has formed in Germany that has close ties with the nationalist AKP (Justice and Development Party) of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (69). The German branch of this movement is called Dava, which means Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening.

The top candidates, all men, have their political past in the environment of the AKP or its supporting organizations. According to information from “Bild am Sonntag”, this also includes Hamburg doctor Mustafa Yoldas (53), who is known to the Federal Ministry of the Interior for his “support for Hamas and its affiliated organizations”.

Doctor Ali Ihsan Ünlü from Bad Eilsen in Lower Saxony, an official of the Turkish organization Ditib, is also a top candidate. Solingen lawyer Fatih Zingal (42), former SPD member, and Teyfik Özcan (42), party leader of Dava and also former SPD member, complete the quartet.

Up to five million Muslims allowed to vote?

According to “Bild am Sonntag”, there are now 2.5 million Muslims with the right to vote in Germany and therefore potential Dava voters. After the planned simplified naturalization from April, another 2.5 million could be added. Dava’s aim is to exert influence in the EU Parliament as an offshoot of the non-EU country Turkey.

The party relies on simple slogans to attract voters and tackles everyday discrimination. She demands that “people with foreign roots receive their full rights.” She is committed to a “pragmatic and ideology-free refugee policy”.

Expert warns

For CDU interior expert Christoph de Vries (49), a clear strategy can be seen here: “Portray Muslims as victims of a racist majority society and act as their representatives.” The federal government should “under no circumstances take the establishment of a party lightly,” De Vries advises.

De Vries continued: “With the establishment of the Turkish Islamic party Dava, President Erdogan now has a new lever in his hand, in addition to Ditib, to exert political influence in Germany and he will try to use this new instrument of power.”

However, the question is whether the party will be successful. When the Alliance of German Democrats, which targeted people of Turkish descent and Muslim immigrants, was active in 2017, it received only 0.5 percent of the vote. According to Turkish insiders, there are currently no plans to establish Dava in Switzerland. (GF)

Source: Blick