'Masquerade ball is over,' Erdoğan tells Europe

Europe's "masquerade ball' is over, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told the continent following his most recent spat with domestic and foreign enemies, slamming countries such as Germany and the Netherlands for banning Turkish ministers from conducting constitutional amendment campaigns.

"What has been happening in Europe lately shows that the struggle against my country and against our struggle has passed to a new stage. Those who tried to come at us with their men, with the terrorists that they support and gave guns to, with the spies they bought with a dollar, are now in the field. My brothers and sisters, the masquerade ball is over," Erdoğan said in a rally in Istanbul on March 19 after alleged sympathizers of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rallied in Frankfurt for Newroz celebrations, displaying symbols that Turkey has declared to be terrorist symbols.

"They set aside diplomacy. They do not have the urge to hide their intentions and cannot hide the discomfort they feel from Turkey, which is growing stronger," said Erdoğan. 

Erdoğan accused European countries of supporting the political campaigns of the opposition to constitutional amendments that will usher in an executive presidency with near-unencumbered powers for himself.

"They are overtly conducting a 'no' campaign through the newspaper headlines that they publish in Turkish.

 They are allocating the biggest halls, the most central squares to the terrorists who are saying 'no,' while they cannot tolerate the word 'yes,'" he said, referring to the Turkish headlines printed after a diplomatic crisis that erupted after Germany and the Netherlands prevented Turkish ministers and politicians from conducting campaign stops in the country.