International
Germans against more military missions: poll
Germans against more military missions: poll
DPA/Berlin
Despite high-level calls to send more German soldiers abroad for allied military operations, three quarters of Germans are hostile to extra missions, a poll for DPA showed yesterday. |
President Joachim Gauck said yesterday that Germany should be more open to sending troops to conflict zones, adding that the time had come for the country to overcome its sense of guilt in relation to World War II.
“Germany and its allies should not deny help to others when human rights violations in genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing, or crimes against humanity are taking place,” Gauck said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
“The use of military force as a last measure is possible, after careful consideration and evaluation of the consequences, as well as authorisation by the UN Security Council,” added Gauck, whose position is mainly ceremonial.
But the survey by YouGov pollsters on behalf of DPA found that 45% of Germans believe the country’s military is already too active abroad, while an additional 30% of those polled think current foreign deployments are just right.
Only 12%, by contrast, think the German military is not doing enough abroad.
The pollsters interviewed 1,010 people. The results had a margin of error of 1.4 to 3.1 percentage points.
The data was published one day after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Germany to show more global leadership.
Ban said on Thursday after meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel: “I asked her to demonstrate her leadership in Syria and in Central Africa and in many other areas.”
Germany currently has nearly 5,000 personnel abroad, mainly in Afghanistan, Kosovo and in naval operations. It has 186,000 military personnel overall.
Talk of more deployments has grown since Merkel formed a new government in December with Social Democrats.
Merkel said alongside Ban that Germany needed to be “more involved” in the world’s problems, but stressed diplomacy, aid and advice.
Ursula von der Leyen, the new defence minister, has suggested that German troops could serve in French operations.
The topic is likely to be debated further at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference.
The YouGov poll found that 58% of respondents believe it is better for Germany to contribute diplomacy and money to settle conflicts rather than use military force.
Only 20% said Germany should be more active as a Nato ally.