‘Rising racism’: Turkey says Europe needs to do more to prevent deadly attacks like Hanau, Merkel says it was likely ‘far-right’

It’s impossible to see attacks like Hanau as isolated, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said. Ankara called on Europe to avoid “this encouraging approach” to xenophobia, and to “unite against racism.”

“The insensitivity shown towards the fight against increasing xenophobia in Europe leads to new attacks every day,” said a statement published by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on February 20.

“It is time to put an end to these attacks. Otherwise, racism and xenophobia will reach more serious levels and lead us to a dangerous situation.”

Primarily, Turkey wants other European governments to avoid “this encouraging approach” to hatred against Islam, and instead “unite against racism and xenophobia, and speak with one voice.”

The Ministry’s statement also offered condolences to the families of victims of the February 19 attack in Hanau, where a gunman killed at least nine people in two hookah bars.

Among those killed were Turkish citizens, according to the Foreign Ministry. The shooter then drove home, where he allegedly killed his 72-year-old mother and then himself. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the attacker likely had far-right and racist motives.

Far-right attacks have been rather common in Germany lately. In October 2019, a man in Halle killed two and wounded two outside a synagogue, before being caught by the police. In July, another man went out to find a random dark-skinned person to shoot and wounded one, who luckily survived. A Neo-Nazi killed a pro-migrant politician, Walter Luebcke, in his home the same year.

However, Germany has also been shaken by violence committed by supporters of hardline Islamists. In 2016, a failed asylum seeker, Anis Amri, drove a truck into a crowd in Berlin, killing 11. He had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

In 2017, another man who'd sought asylum went on a stabbing spree in Hamburg, claiming later he tried to kill as many Christian Germans as possible.

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