Turkey’s main opposition rules out report on warning to Germans

BERLIN

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has denied reports claiming that party head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu warned German citizens about traveling to Turkey. 

The CHP asked German weekly magazine Focus to “correct its mistake” and said a quotation attributed to Kılıçdaroğlu “didn’t belong to the party leader” on Aug. 6. 

It said the mistake stemmed from an editor interpreting the interview. 

“A refutation was sent and the necessary processes were launched,” read the statement released by the CHP.
The report published in Focus on Aug. 5 stated that Kılıçdaroğlu said “there are no security guarantees for anyone in Turkey,” and also stated it was unsafe for Germans to travel to the country given the current political climate.

“Turkey is an extremely safe country. Every province of Turkey is at least as safe as Berlin, Paris and London. An operation [to create] a negative perception against Turkey has been ongoing abroad for a long time,” commented Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş regarding the report. 

“It is unfortunate and unfair to define Turkey as an unsafe country. Turkey does not deserve this. It is especially inappropriate to say these words coming from Turkey. These remarks need to be corrected, they are incorrect and do not reflect the truth,” Kurtulmuş also said on Aug. 5 in the Marmara province of Çanakkale.