Protest against Erdogan in Germany.

Germany’s Steiger Award Committee canceled its award that was intended to be presented to Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Committee stated that it canceled this award for Erdogan because he did not attend the award’s presentation ceremony, Hurriyet daily of Turkey informs. The Turkish PM had canceled his trip to Germany when he had heard of the helicopter crash in Afghanistan, which had claimed the lives of twelve Turkish military servicemen.

But Hurriyet also brings attention to the fact that Steiger Award recipient, musician Lou Reed, likewise did not attend the presentation ceremony yet his award was not canceled.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to receive the Steiger Award for Tolerance, but this raised a storm of protest among Germany’s Armenians, Kurds, Assyrians, and Alevis. And as a result, the Award’s category was changed to the Steiger Award for Turkish-German Friendship.

More than 25,000 people, mainly Armenians, Kurds and Alevis, held a massive protest in the German city of Bokhum against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan's policy, reports EuroNews.

Erdogan was supposed to be in Bokhum to receive the Man of the Year Award but he canceled his visit. 

The rally was held at the local stadium. The participants declared that Erdogan receiving such an award was a "slap to the ethnic minorities living in Turkey". The Kurds and Alevis believe the Prime Minister is not making any effort to reconcile with them.

Two days ago, anonymous people drew signs on the doors of the homes of Alevis living in the Burja region of Izmir and numbered them. This incident made the Alevis break into frenzy. They are certain that Turk ultranationalists did this and that they are unpredictable.