Incirlik: Take a Stand Instead of Playing for Time
"The Christian Conservatives and Social Democrats in government further refuse to take a stand and eventually put Erdogan in his place. By playing for time during the decision on the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from Incirlik for not having to admit that the opposition was right all the time, they further let themselves show up by Turkey on an international stage. This political impasse needs to end." Declares Alexander Neu, delegate of DIE LINKE parliamentary group in the Defence Committee after the governing coalition with a majority of votes removed the proposal of LINKE and Greens on "Immediate withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from Incirlik" from the agendas of Defence and Foreign Committee and blocked its subsequent dealing in the plenary. Neu further:
Especially for the Social Democrats, who in the last days bragged and demanded the Bundeswehr to be withdrawn from Incirlik, this opinion change is a pathetic display. Once again they submit to the Conservatives and curry their favour for further four years as junior partner in a Great Coalition. It would have been a chance for the Social Democrats to show that they are serious about this instead of only giving shallow promises to purport having an own opinion differing from the Conservatives. They missed this beat.
The decision to further postpone the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from Turkey even though Erdogan still does not allow visits from German parliamentarians can not be accepted. The Bundeswehr is an army dispatched by the parliament. If parliamentarians are not allowed access Bundeswehr sites this principle is led ad absurdum. The intervention of the Bundeswehr in Incirlik needs to be cancelled immediately under these conditions, the soldiers as well as the complete inventory needs to be retrieved. It does not help that members of the Defence Committee have permission to visit the NATO base in Konya. This trip only has an alibi function and is supposed to distract from the actual problem.