Vienna’s Muslim kindergartens feed Austrian-Turkish tensions

VIENNA – A Turkish legislator says Austria’s foreign minister should be criminally prosecuted over alleged tampering with a report on Muslim kindergartens in Vienna while the minister’s office is blaming Ankara for actively opposing the integration of Turkish children in Austria.

The report was commissioned by Foreign and Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz. It is now being reviewed by the University of Vienna for alleged text manipulations by staff reporting to Kurz to make it more negative.

Author Ednan Aslan denies any manipulation.

Mustafa Yeneroglu of Turkey’s governing AKP party on Friday called for criminal prosecution of Kurz. In response Kurz aide Elisabeth Koestinger demands Ankara stop interfering in Austrian matters, adding Turkey is actively involved in isolating children “from the majority” in Austria.