Germany reaffirms stance against coup bid in Turkey

BERLIN (AA) – Chancellor Angela Merkel has reaffirmed Germany’s stance against the defeated July 15 coup in Turkey and continuation of close cooperation with the Turkish government to address common challenges, including the refugee crisis.

In remarks made during a debate on the 2017 federal budget in the parliament Wednesday, Merkel said: “It is good that this coup attempt was foiled, and it was the right thing to do for people to take to the streets.”

Her remarks came after Turkey’s criticism of its European partners for failing to show strong solidarity with Turkish people against the coup attempt by Gulenists, also known as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Merkel, who is under growing criticism by German opposition parties for her Turkey policy, dismissed claims she was ignoring human rights issues, while seeking closer cooperation with the Turkish government.

She said Berlin would not shy away from criticizing Ankara, if any human rights violations would occur in the course of judicial investigations into the events.

She underlined Turkey’s important role in finding a solution to the refugee crisis and defended the EU-Turkey deal to address the problem.

“The EU-Turkey agreement is in the interest of both sides,” Merkel said, adding the EU and Turkey as well as Syrian refugees have benefited from this.

She said the deal had improved the living conditions of refugees in Turkey and significantly reduced illegal trafficking through the Aegean.

Germany has witnessed last year the biggest refugee crisis in decades, and accepted more than a million refugees; most of these were Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, who traveled to the country through the Balkan route, after crossing the Aegean.

The EU-Turkey agreement, which took effect in March this year, has significantly reduced the refugee influx.

The number of refugees who entered Germany has decreased to 18,000 last month, according to the Interior Ministry. It was nearly 100,000 in August last year.