Diplomacy: New row between Ankara and Berlin
Relations between the two countries seemed to be relaxing a bit recently. But now the Turkish government accuses Germany of controlling the opposition in the country.
Just a few weeks ago, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were swearing by the solidarity of the countries – now there is new noise. Ankara accuses Germany of financing and controlling Turkish government opponents. Turkish opposition parties are acting on Germany’s orders, says Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Government politicians and pro-government media in Turkey are primarily targeting the German ambassador in Ankara, Jürgen Schulz, as allegedly pulling the strings. Anti-Western conspiracy theories are part of the government’s program a year before the next elections – the dispute could therefore escalate further.
The new rift began last week when the Foreign Office in Berlin summoned the Turkish ambassador to Germany, Ahmet Basar Sen, to protest against the verdict against Turkish cultural promoter Osman Kavala. A court in Istanbul had sentenced Kavala to life imprisonment for an alleged attempted coup, although the European Court of Human Rights is demanding his release. Due to the case, the Council of Europe is pursuing a closing procedure against Turkey, which, as a member of the Council, is obliged to comply with a judgment of the Human Rights Court.
Erdogan and his government do not recognize the sovereignty of the Council of Europe court in Kavala. The case was concluded with the conviction of the accused, and the right of objection by the human rights court was “dated”, said Erdogan. Germany and other European countries see things differently and criticize the handling of Kavala as a sign that the judiciary in Turkey serves the government. Shortly after Sen arrived in Berlin, the German ambassador Schulz was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara to pick up the Turkish government’s protest against the behavior of the federal government: Berlin did not have to criticize a Turkish court decision.
The German ambassador is the bogeyman of the Turkish government
Schulz is a bogeyman for the government and pro-government media in Turkey: They accuse him of having helped form an opposition alliance against President Erdogan. Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu recently said that a joint statement by six opposition parties that want to run against Erdogan’s coalition government in next year’s parliamentary and presidential elections had been agreed with the foreign ambassador in Ankara. Soylu spoke of European and American attempts at interference, but gave no name. The government newspaper Yeni Safak reported shortly thereafter that the ambassador in question had been Schulz. The German embassy in Ankara denied.
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Nevertheless, the government continues to fan the rumor from the alleged Germans to the opposition. During an appearance in his home province of Antalya, Foreign Minister Cavusoglu alluded to the accusation that Kavala had instigated the anti-government Gezi protests of 2013 on behalf of foreign forces. Although there is no evidence, Kavala was convicted last week.
In his speech, Cavusoglu asked why are other countries concerned about Kavala so much, and he answered the question himself: “Because they give money, because they use people. They use this type of people to get involved in Turkey.” His ministry made it clear to Ambassador Schulz that he was not supposed to get involved in Turkish domestic politics. “But as you can see, the parties appointed here are giving orders to align them accordingly and direct Turkey’s domestic politics.”
Erdogan claims to convince voters with anti-Western attitudes
Erdogan’s government had already hit out against the West in selected election campaigns in order to impress nationalist voters. Shortly before the Turkish referendum on the introduction of Erdogan’s presidential system in 2017, the Turkish President accused the Flemish Chancellor Angela Merkel of “Nazi methods” because Germany and other EU states did not allow Turkish politicians to appear on the campaign trail. Before the 2018 parliamentary and presidential elections, Erdogan lashed out against Austria, which wanted to provoke a war between Western “crusaders” and the Islamic world.
Not all states have to reckon with Erdogan’s wrath. At the request of Saudi Arabia and with encouragement from Erdogan’s government, a Turkish court dropped the Istanbul criminal case last month against the suspected murderer of Saudi journalist Jamal Kaschoggi. Erdogan was then able to travel to Saudi Arabia last week to seal a fresh start in relations with the kingdom.