Turkish PM scorns accusations of authoritarianism

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Saturday poured scorn on accusations that potential reforms to Turkey's presidential system would set his country on the path to dictatorship.

"They say that a one-man system is coming," Yildirim told tens of thousands of Turks gathered at a rally in the western German town of Oberhausen. "Are there two chancellors in Germany? In a presidential system, there is of course just one president. A ship can't have two captains."

Yildirim was in Germany, home to the world's biggest Turkish diaspora community, to campaign for constitutional reform in Turkey. 

Some 1.4 million Turks living in Germany are eligible to vote in the referendum, scheduled for 16 April.

The reforms would extend the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has already used a state of emergency following a failed coup in July to consolidate his power by conducting a widespread purge of government opponents. 

Critics say the amendments will weaken checks and balances and the role of parliament and leave too much power concentrated in the office of the president, while damaging the independence of the judiciary. The government says it will bring stability.

The campaign event, advertised with the slogan "Those who love their country vote yes," has come under fire in Germany amid unease about the Turkish president's growing authoritarianism.

Aydan Ozuguz, Germany's commissioner for immigration and integration, said the constitutional reform effort was "not a good development and not a development that is in accordance with the rule of law."

Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) said that the event would draw a crowd of 10,000 people.

Some 300 people attended a peaceful protest against Yildirim's speech, a police spokeswoman said.

Yildirim's campaign event was overshadowed by the detention of a correspondent for German newspaper Die Welt on Friday. Deniz Yucel is the first German reporter to be charged in a widespread crackdown on journalists and political opposition in Turkey.

Chancellor Angela Merkel told Yildirim on Saturday that Yucel - who has dual citizenship - should be "treated fairly and in accordance with the rule of law," her spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists.

Yildirim met later on Saturday with US Vice President Mike Pence in Munich, according to a statement issued by the White House. 

The leaders agreed that they would not allow Iran to undermine stability in the region and discussed ways to accelerate joint efforts to defeat Islamic State. 

Pence thanked Yildirim for Turkey's contributions to the campaign and expressed his condolences for Turkish loss of life in the fight against terrorism, including what the statement called "a brutal and senseless" terrorist attack that occurred on Friday in southeast Turkey.    (dpa)

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