Tourists to be detained at airports if suspected of ties to terrorism: minister

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on vowed to detain and deport tourists at airports if they are suspected of links to terrorism on Monday.

Addressing a rally in the run-up to local elections on March 31, Soylu, a critic-turned-supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said it would no longer be possible to act like a traitor overseas by attending events of terrorist organizations targeting Turkey such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and then come and enjoy vacation resorts in the country. In addition to the PKK, the government often accuses the HDP of supporting terrorism, jailing its local and national officials.

After minister remarks sparked outrage among tourism investors in Turkey and abraod, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry had to issue a statement on Tuesday claiming that all tourists are welcome. “Turkey will continue to welcome tourists coming from all over the world with hospitality,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said, as reported by the Turkish media. The ministry blamed the German media for spreading a “baseless allegation.”

Germany is the country from which most tourist arrivals in Turkey are. The spokesperson of German Foreign Ministry, Maria Adebahr said “Turkish Interior minister’s remarks are obviously unnecessary at the moment and serve nothing” during a press conference on Thursday. Adebahr also warned German citizens that freedom of expression practices are different in Turkey than they are in Germany. (SCF with turkishminute.com)

 

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from SCF