Australian fury as Erdogan invokes Gallipoli after Christchurch massacre

Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, on Wednesday condemned "reckless" and "highly offensive" comments made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, warning he would consider "all options" in reviewing ties.

The Turkish leader, while campaigning for local elections, presented the attack as part of an assault on Turkey and Islam and warned anti-Muslim Australians would be "sent back in coffins" like their grandfathers at Gallipoli, a blood-drenched WWI battle.

More than 8,000 Australians died fighting Turkish forces at Gallipoli, which has a prominent place in the Australia’s collective memory.

"Remarks have been made by the Turkish President Erdogan that I consider highly offensive to Australians, and highly reckless in this very sensitive environment," Mr Morrison said after summoning the Turkish ambassador and dismissing the "excuses" offered.

"I am expecting, and I have asked, for these comments to be clarified, to be withdrawn," Mr Morrison, who also faces an election challenge in the coming weeks.

"I’ve asked for these comments, particularly their reporting of the misrepresented position of Australia on Turkish television, the state-sponsored broadcaster, to be taken down and I expect that to occur."

He described claims about Australia and New Zealand’s response to the white supremacist attack as "vile."

Mr Morrison said Australians travelling to Turkey should exercise common sense and cautioned that travel advice for Turkey was under review.

"I will wait to see what the response is from the Turkish government before taking further action, but I can tell you that all options are on the table," Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison accused Mr Erdogan of betraying the promise of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – the father of modern state and a revered figure in the Turkey – to forge peace between the two countries.

A memorial at the battlefield carries Ataturk’s words: "There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets... after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."

"Ataturk sought to transform his country into a modern nation and, an embracing nation, and I think these comments are at odds with that spirit," Mr Morrison said.

Mr Erdogan had already been sharply rebuked by New Zealand for his comments and for using gruesome video shot by the Christchurch mosque gunman as an election campaign prop.

New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters protested on Monday that such politicisation of the massacre "imperils the future and safety of the New Zealand people and our people abroad, and it’s totally unfair".

Mr Peters announced on Tuesday that he would be travelling to Turkey this week at Istanbul’s request to attend a special meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

“Our deputy prime minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey,” Ms Ardern told reporters in Christchurch. “He is going there to set the record straight, face-to-face.”

Three Turkish nationals were wounded in the rampage that killed 50 worshippers at two mosques in the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday.

The accused gunman, a self-avowed white supremacist from Australia, live-streamed much of the attack and spread a manifesto on social media claiming it was a strike against Muslim "invaders".

The manifesto references Turkey and the minarets of Istanbul’s famed Hagia Sophia, now a museum, that was once a church before becoming a mosque during the Ottoman empire.

"This is not an isolated event, it is something more organised," Mr Erdogan said during a campaign event on Monday in Canakkale in western Turkey.

"They are testing us with the message they are sending us from New Zealand, 16,500 km (10,250 miles) from here."

Mr Erdogan did not project the video at the Monday event.

In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post on Wednesday, Mr Erdogan said there was no difference between the mosque gunman and militants from the Islamic State group.

He also called on Western leaders to learn from "the courage, leadership and sincerity" of Ms Ardern and "embrace Muslims living in their respective countries."

Mr Erdogan said the West "must reject the normalisation of racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia."

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