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  • ISTANBUL: German president 'horrified' by developments in Turkey

    http://www.todayszaman.com/news-346383-german-president-horrified-by-developments-in-turkey.html

    German president 'horrified' by developments in Turkey
    By BUSRA OZERLI
    2014-04-28

    German president has said in Ankara he is "horrified" over negative
    developments in Turkey, criticizing the government for censoring
    Internet, controlling judiciary and granting wide powers to the spy
    agency.

    "Don't take my statements as an interference into your domestic
    affairs," German President Joachim Gauck told a group of students at
    the Ankara's prestigious Middle Eastern Technical University (ODTU) on
    Monday. "I should confess developments in Turkey horrify me." He said
    his remarks are aimed at sharing his concerns as a citizen of a
    democratic nation.

    Gauck said he lived in a communist regime for fifty years, in which
    the ruling party decided what is legal and what is not. To avoid this,
    he said, the separation of powers is significant.

    Gauck, who is on a four-day-long official visit to Turkey, arrived in
    the country late on Saturday accompanied by his wife, Daniela Schadt,
    and Integration Minister Aydan Ozoguz, the first politician of Turkish
    origin to hold a top post in Germany.

    Gauck's remarks came at a time when the government put judiciary under
    its control with a recent bill on the Supreme Board of Judges and
    Prosecutors (HSYK). The German president said the removal of a number
    of police and prosecutors from their posts by the government will
    block to illuminate shady developments. "I'm asking: If the government
    tries to manipulate the court decisions in its favor or escape from
    decisions against itself, can we talk about independence of
    judiciary?"

    Gauck also mentioned positive developments in Turkey, which includes
    the taming military power in politics. He recalled that a dialogue has
    been started with Kurds and that the conflicts decreased. He added
    that historic taboos about what has been done to Armenians and Kurds
    started to break up.

    Gauck criticized granting wide powers to the National Intelligence
    Organization (MIT) and slammed the authorities for using excessive
    force to disperse protesters from the streets.

    He said he is concerned over the freedom of press, reminding that
    Internet is being censored while journalists are jailed or
    intimidated. He stated that informing people and being informed by
    developments are two fundamental conditions of a healthy democracy.

    Earlier in the day, during a press conference with his Turkish
    counterpart, Abdullah Gul, Gauck called on the Turkish government to
    be responsive to criticism and said he does not understand why the
    government has been antagonizing the media and judiciary.

    `This [Turkish] government won the elections. Why would such a strong
    government [need to] take such measures against judiciary and react to
    the media?" said Gauck at a joint press conference with President
    Abdullah Gul.

    He added that the government should not feel uneasy with criticism and
    asked Gul whether Twitter and YouTube had to be banned and why
    Constitutional Court President Hasim Kilic recently delivered a harsh
    speech. `Is this approach supposed to strengthen the democracy?' said
    the German president.

    During the meeting, the presidents touched upon the issue of
    minorities in Turkey. `A democratic society should be able to question
    its history. Germany also expresses its guilt and shame [regarding its
    national history], which is not a weakness,' said Gauck.

    In remarks regarding Turkey's European Union membership, Gauck said,
    "We are in a process that started a long time ago. There are some
    chapters that are open and some that are not. There is no questioning
    whether Turkey will become an EU member. Democracy is a state of
    constant and systematic dialogue [between sides].'

    Regarding Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks that he is
    ignoring international criticism on the Twitter ban, Gauck emphasized
    that the Turkish government is not facing a threat from social media.
    Speaking alongside Gauck at the press conference, Gul expressed his
    support for the government, which has asked Twitter to establish a
    local office in Turkey in an attempt to end a feud over a tax-related
    issue. Erdogan reiterated his stance on the government dispute with
    Twitter last week by saying: `All else aside, a tax-evading company
    may not operate in Turkey. It doesn't have an office [in Turkey]. It
    can't operate [here]. We will do whatever is necessary. The issue is
    no longer one-dimensional, it has multiple dimensions.'

    Gul endorsed Erdogan's condolences to the grandchildren of Armenians
    who were killed in 1915 in Anatolia, during World War I. Gul expressed
    his firm support for the statement, which was released by the Prime
    Ministry on Erdogan's behalf last week.

    Speaking about the EU and Turkey's turbulent relationship, Gul argued
    that his country has undergone tremendous reforms in the past decade
    as part of its firm commitment to the accession process. It is an
    undisputed fact, Gul said, that Turkey has made remarkable progress on
    its path toward membership.

    In response to a German journalist's question of whether Gul is taking
    Gauck's criticisms as advice or as a threat, Gul said: `No country can
    claim to be perfect. We have seen murders committed by the far right
    in Germany and the visible shame after the murders. We have similar
    situations [in Turkey] and it is important to be aware of [both] our
    flaws and our efforts to correct them.'

    Before his visit to Ankara, the German president also visited a tent
    city in Kahramanmaras on Sunday. After talking to Syrians there, Gauck
    told journalists that he was very impressed by Turkey's efforts to
    provide help to Syrians who have fled the war. He pledged that Germany
    would donate TL 2.5 million to Syrians in Turkey with the cooperation
    of the Turkish Red Crescent Society (Kizilay).

    `We can't do much to end the war in Syria. But we should think more
    about how we can help these people [Syrians who have fled the war]. I
    see international cooperation here. Government institutions and
    Turkish people are trying their best to help Syrians. We, as a rich
    country, should ask ourselves whether we are doing everything we can
    to help,' said Gauck, adding: `This visit was an important message for
    me to appreciate Turkey's efforts. When I go back to my country, I
    will tell my observations to the German government." Gauck handed out
    toys to Syrian children in the tent city.

    Following his visit to the tent city, Gauck inspected 300 German
    troops stationed in Kahramanmaras, where they operate NATO's Patriot
    missiles that guard against threats from Syria.

    Turkey has Patriot missiles stationed in the southern provinces of
    Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras and Adana. Six Patriot batteries were sent to
    Turkey by the US, the Netherlands and Germany as part of a NATO
    decision to boost Turkey's air defense against a potential Syrian
    missile attack. The batteries have been in those provinces since
    December of 2012. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu sent a
    letter requesting an extension of the Patriot batteries' deployment to
    areas along the Syrian border in December 2013. The extension request
    was necessary, as the Patriots' deployment was set to end after one
    year.

    Following his meeting with Gul, Gauck met with Erdogan on Monday in
    Ankara. Gauck is also planning to visit Istanbul, where he will attend
    the opening ceremony of the Turkish-German University in Istanbul's
    Beykoz district on Tuesday. Gauck is also expected to have meetings
    with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Turkey.




    From: A. Papazian
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