Turkey's justice minister Bekir Bozdag canceled plans to meet with his German counterpart Heiko Maas Thursday after local authorities in southwest Germany withdrew permission for him to use a venue to hold a political rally.
Bozdag was scheduled to speak at an event in Gaggenau The rally was part of a campaign to get Turks in Germany to vote "yes" in an upcoming referendum on increasing the powers of the president in Turkey.
Bozdag said the German authorities' decision to withdraw the permit was "unacceptable." He was canceling a meeting with his German counterpart in protest and was returning to Turkey.
Authorities in Gaggenau on Thursday withdrew permission for a local venue to host the event, citing insufficient space for the number of people expected, but said they couldn't rule out that the rally might be held elsewhere, the AP reported.
