From the DW:
“Majority of Germans want Turkey
kicked out of NATO: survey”
A new survey shows that 58% of
Germans want Turkey expelled from NATO over the recent military offensive in
Syria. There is even stronger German support for economic sanctions and export
bans against the country. A majority of Germans believe that Turkey should be
expelled from NATO over Ankara's military offensive in northern Syria that
began in October, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The YouGov survey,
commissioned by news agency dpa, interviewed over 2,000 adult Germans between
October 25 and 28 and found that that 58% believe Turkey should be removed from
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the intergovernmental military
alliance of 29 European and North American countries. Only 18% were against the
idea. A larger proportion of Germans wanted the German government to take a
tougher stance against Turkey, with 61% in favor of economic sanctions against
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's country while 69% supported a complete ban on
arms exports. UN sources say over 200,000 people have been internally displaced
in Syria's northeast since Turkey launched its offensive on October 9. So far,
the border town of Ras al-Ayn has paid the highest toll in the wake of a joint
attack by Turkish militias and airstrikes. The city will remain under Turkish
control following a deal struck in Sochi between Russia and Turkey.
No process for NATO expulsion
The German government has limited
arms sales to Turkey since Erdogan launched the military offensive in northern
Syria on October 9 — but there is no total ban on arms sales to the country, as
previously vowed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. While NATO's founding
charter allows for a member to quit the military alliance, there is no
mechanism that spells out how a country can be booted out by other states in
the alliance. Removing a country from NATO would be a complicated and lengthy
process that would need the approval of, and ratification by, all member
countries. In Germany, many politicians from the Left party have also called
for Turkey's expulsion, and the acting chairman of the center-left SPD
parliamentary group, Rolf Mützenich, has similarly called Turkey's membership
into question. However, former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told
Germany's daily Tagesspiegel that expelling Turkey from NATO would lead to a
"new major security risk at the EU's eastern border." Additionally,
at least week's NATO meeting, members emphasized Turkey's strategic importance
as a bridge between East and West. Turkey also has the second largest army in
NATO, after the US, making it a significant contributor to the defense
alliance's military capabilities. Tensions between Ankara and the NATO partners
have steadily increased in recent months, such as when Ankara purchased and
began receiving the Russian-made S-400 missile system earlier this summer.
^ Germany (and every other
country) needs to take a stand against the Turkish invasion of Syria and their
war against the Kurds there. NATO should make an official statement against
Turkey’s action, but of course they won’t. I don’t see Turkey (or any other
country) getting kicked-out of NATO. I am curious to know if the majority of
Germans want Turkey out of NATO solely because of Turkey’s recent invasion or
because they are against all the Turks living and working in Germany. I think
it is the latter. In the end Turkey is being Russia’s lackey and doing it’s bidding
in Syria (and Russia is standing by while Turkey goes after the innocent
Kurds.) ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.