VIENNA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Austrian interior minister Wolfgang Sobotka said Tuesday that he wishes to make amendments to freedom of assembly laws in order to prevent foreign officials from campaigning in Austria.
In an interview with radio program Oe1 Morgenjournal, Sobotka said Austria needs a "watchful democracy," under which a foreign state cannot bring its political differences to Austria.
The move came after Austria and the Netherlands joined Germany in banning Turkish political rallies in their territories.
Sobotka said such amendments will make it possible to protect human rights, public order and interior safety from being jeopardized in the future.
Turkish voters will go to the polls on April 16 to approve or reject constitutional amendments to transform the nation's parliamentary system into a presidential one.
Sobotka said a European Union-wide solution is not enforecable, as some have suggested, thus the Austrian government must provide its own solutions.
When specifically asked whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be denied entry into Austria, Sobotka responded that "if he comes as a political guest of state, he is welcome."
