Bundeswehr soldiers in Turkey

Author: Orhan Sattarov, head of European office of VK

 
On February 18 near the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, 100
kilometers from the border with Syria torn by civil war, «Patriot» anti-aircraft missile complexes served by German soldiers were deployed. During her recent visit to Turkey, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the location of German troops. The presence of the Bundeswehr in Turkey served as a reminder: despite all the tensions between Turkey and Europe, they are allies and are on the same side.

But it turned out that even the military cooperation between Turkey and Germany in the framework of the North Atlantic Alliance is not rosy. German media, quoting field reports by Helmut Koenigshaus, representative of the Bundeswehr in the Bundestag, reported poor conditions of German soldiers in the Turkish barracks. However, a man who went through Soviet training would not find such complaints dramatic - in particular, the German soldiers feel uncomfortable because of dirty toilets and the lack of accessible mobile toilets. Obviously, the Turkish sanitary realities were quite unexpected for the German soldiers who were used to European standards.


However, the report documented more serious cases: in particular, we are talking about the oppression of the Germans by Turkish troops, some of which is for political reasons. According to an estimate by Koenigshaus, cooperation with the Turkish side is "mostly problematic." German soldiers complain about the unwillingness of Turkish colleagues to help them and their coldness. In addition, the Turkish side strictly prohibits its military to have contact with the Germans. Those who violate the ban are subject to strict disciplinary action. In his report, Koenigshaus describes the following case: when a nurse of the Bundeswehr decided to visit his Turkish counterpart in hospital, the Turkish commander literally kicked the German out.

Tension seriously escalated ahead of the visit of Defence Minister of Germany Thomas de Maiziere in late February, when the Turkish military leadership forced the Germans to remove all German flags, reminding them that they are still in the Turkish barracks. In another case, described in the report, the issue came to a beating. A German courier, blocking the road in order to provide transport for the column of the minister, stopped the limo of a Turkish general.

According to the evidence of German soldiers, this enraged the Turkish officer, who started a fight. The German courier received a lot of injuries.

The Bundeswehr military also complained about many restrictions, including on movement in Kahramanmaraş, Germans are free to move only in the historic city center. However here there were some incidents:

German media published the video in which a crowd of young Turks began to oppress and push a German military man in civilian clothes as the latter came out of a store.

Undoubtedly, the Turkish side will find an explanation in the strict order in its army, including in relation to foreign guests. For obvious reasons, the report does not say a word about possible wrongdoing by the German military in Turkey.

Perhaps, however, such a negative information background for the visit by Angela Merkel is deliberately created by the German media. In this case, the goal is clearly achieved: national pride is hurt, and the vast majority of German readers diligently write angry comments. Their common sense can be summarized as follows: "Turkey should not enter Europe.”