Turkish MP urges parliamentary meet on Germany attack

ANKARA

A Turkish lawmaker called on the parliament to hold a special session on the far-right terror attack in Germany that killed nine people, including five Turkish citizens.

"A special session should be held [in the parliament] on such kind of attacks. As the Turkish society, we should display sensitivity," Mustafa Yeneroglu, an independent lawmaker from Istanbul, told the reporters in the parliament.

Yeneroglu also called on the parties in the parliament to issue a joint declaration on the attack.

"This is a national issue and the political parties should pose a common attitude [against the attack]," Yeneroglu said.

A far-right terror attack in Germany on Wednesday night killed nine people and is officially being treated as a terrorist attack with xenophobic motives.

Five Turkish nationals were among the victims, Turkey’s Ambassador in Berlin Ali Kemal Aydin confirmed Thursday.

Yeneroglu said that the whole German society could not be accused of the attack. He dubbed the racism an “illness” and said the whole world should treat it like this.

"However, Germany should be more sensitive on this issue when its history is examined. Germany should find some concrete solutions on the issue so that it should not remain unfulfilled," he said.

The perpetrator, who targeted migrants at two cafes in Hanau, near Frankfurt, was identified by security forces as Tobias R., 43, according to German daily Bild.

He and one other person were found dead in an apartment in Hanau following a German special operations raid.

Initial police findings showed that the perpetrator was acting with "xenophobic motives," Hesse's Interior Minister Peter Beuth told reporters.

"The Federal Public Prosecutor has taken over the investigation. It is treating this as a suspected incident of a terrorist attack," he said.

Hanau is located around 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Frankfurt and has a population of nearly 100,000.