At the invitation of the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), Sol (CWI in Germany) members Chiara Stenger and Christoph Farwig, like many other socialists and anti-war activists from around the world, travelled to Turkey on 3 July to participate in an anti-imperialist peace summit. This summit was held in Istanbul as an alternative to the NATO summit taking place in Ankara.
Chiara and Christoph, and others, were prevented from entering the country and were deported to Germany. They victims had their mobile phones confiscated, were taken into police custody at the airport and had to spend the night in a holding cell.
The Turkish state had already reacted to the planned protests surrounding the NATO summit in recent weeks with arrests and repression. These entry denials are consistent with that. While the world’s warmongers are welcomed with millions of euros, anti-war activists are not allowed to exercise their democratic rights and are being detained.
We spoke with Chiara and Christoph.
How are you and what exactly happened?
Chiara: I’m doing okay, all things considered. When I tried to enter Turkey at Istanbul Airport, I was held up at passport control and then taken by several security officers to different rooms. My identification documents and my cell phone were confiscated. Initially, they talked about ‘normal’ security measures, but it quickly became clear that they were after the conference. I was asked questions about my stay and my views on capitalism and Trump. Finally, my fingerprints were taken and photos were taken. I was questioned further, and then I was taken to a locked room where a comrade from the Left Youth (Linksjugend [‘solid], the youth organisation linked to the Left Party) in Munich was also there. Up until that point, we hadn’t received any information about what was going on or what would happen to us, despite repeatedly asking.
Christoph: I had been informed before passport control that other comrades had been detained, so I was prepared. The security forces at the airport expressed that they couldn’t understand the action either. I was put in a group cell without a cell phone or ID card, meaning without any way to contact anyone, where I met a comrade from the Left Youth in Munich. I was pressured to sign a document without its contents being explained to me and wasn’t given dinner. On Saturday morning at 11am, we were taken to the deportation plane. The flight crew was handed a document stating, among other things, that I was a flight risk and violent. Throughout this whole time, it was incredibly important to know that I wasn’t alone and that I had the Sol, the CWI, and the TIP behind me, taking care of things on the outside.
Chiara: We had opportunities to communicate at times, and it was encouraging to know that comrades from Sol, TIP, and the Left Youth were looking after our situation. Many thanks also to the Left Party members of parliament Nicole Gohlke and Cansu Özdemir, who acted immediately and who intend to continue investigating the matter, because there is strong evidence suggesting that German authorities were behind the whole thing.
How do you assess these repressions?
Chiara: It seems that German and Turkish authorities collaborated in this case to prevent our entry. Apparently, their aim was to intimidate us and hinder a successful conference discussing alternatives to war and capitalism. Even without us, the conference will hopefully be a success, as most participants were able to enter without any problems, and I’m glad that the comrades can have these discussions. But it’s striking that, apart from one person from Italy and one from Finland, all the German participants were deported.
Christoph: This whole affair shows that militarisation goes hand in hand with curtailments of democratic rights. I left Turkey in a state of intense anger, but also with the determination to put an end to this activity and imperialism.
What happens next?
Chiara: Sol will draw attention to this case and, together with comrades from TIP and the Left Party, will try to find out what’s behind the repression. After all, it was a registered, legal event, and there are absolutely no legal grounds why participation in the conference should be prohibited. I think, rather, that this reflects the German state’s new approach of targeting left-wing activists in order to push forward with militarisation and rearmament with as little opposition as possible. It’s all the more important, therefore, that we don’t let this deter us and that they don’t succeed in achieving their goal. Because only through organising and international resistance against war, imperialism, and capitalism can we change these conditions.
