Berlin says German citizens 'no longer safe' in Turkey
Ankara-Berlin animosity is likely to spill over from harsh words to action as Germans languish in Turkish detention and German investors are warned away from the country.
The crisis between Turkey and Germany over the detention of a German human rights defender and two German journalists is escalating amid signs that Germany is preparing to transition from sharpening rebukes to punitive actions.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who declared a “re-orientation” of Germany's Turkey policy, told the press in Berlin today that the country’s actions show it's “departing from the basis of European values."
“One can’t advise anyone to invest in a country when there is no legal certainty and where companies, completely respectable companies, are presented as terrorists,” Gabriel said. “I therefore do not see how, as the government, we can still guarantee German company investments in Turkey if, as has happened, arbitrary expropriations for political reasons have not only been threatened but have already taken place.”
Gabriel’s comments come as Germany’s association of exporters suggested that the threat to economic ties between the two countries were far from empty. In the same report, Bloomberg quoted the lobby group as saying, “You certainly can’t advise any companies to take on investments in this climate.”
