Turkey is sending the wrong signals in terms of human rights, Germany warns

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said that Turkey is sending the wrong messages to the EU by withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention and taking steps to shut down the pro-Kurdish HDP.

Monday March 22 2021 02:53 pm

Supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) shout slogans during a rally to celebrate Newroz, which marks the arrival of spring, in Ankara on March 21.

Reuters

Turkey is sending the wrong messages to the European Union by withdrawing from a pact designed to counter violence against women and closing down the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned on March 22.

"What we have seen in the last few days, the ban of the HDP and particularly the pullout of the Istanbul Convention, are absolutely the wrong signals," Maas said as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.

Turkey last week took a number of steps in what critics call anti-democratic, including withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention and the case to shut down the HDP.

In the conflict between Turkey and Greece in the eastern Mediterranean, meanwhile, there were signs of de-escalation, Maas added. The EU had threatened Ankara with sanctions last year after a flare-up of the decades-old dispute.

"Regarding Turkey, there is light and shadow," Maas said. "We will have to discuss these mixed signals coming from Turkey today, and we will continue to aim for an ongoing dialogue - and we will use this dialogue to address issues where we believe Turkey is sending the wrong signals."

Topics Turkey-Germany Ankara-Berlin Heiko Maas Turkish government Istanbul Convention