Career diplomat from Zug currently serving in Ankara talks about her experiences

Christina Bürgi Dellsperger is head of the economics and cultural section at the Swiss Embassy in Ankara, where she has been living with her husband since August 2015. A former resident of Risch, the 56-year-old experienced the failed coup in the country first hand. In fact as the Swiss ambassador was not in residence there last weekend, she was also temporarily chargée d’affaires with full responsibility for the embassy. Some readers may remember that the SP-party member campaigned to represent Zug in the National Council last year.
 
In an interview with a journalist of the Neue Zuger Zeitung, Bürgi Dellsberger explained that last Saturday evening she and her husband had been out for a meal and were just on the balcony of their flat when they noticed two military jets circling over the city, with civil aviation flights stopping soon afterwards.
 
“At first we thought there might have been an assassination attempt and I began to look at the appropriate Twitter pages. When it became clear it was a coup, I met up with our crisis management committee, which is made up of four Swiss and three locally employed staff at the embassy and we began to report back to Switzerland about what was going on. For the remainder of that night until 9 am the next morning fighter jets screamed over the city at supersonic speeds, while all the time we heard machine-gun fire and grenades going off.”
 
When she was asked if she was ever in any personal danger, the diplomat explained that the embassy was in a protected area and not near strategically important buildings, so they were not in any immediate danger.
 
But were you not afraid? asked the journalist.
“No, surprisingly not, though one never knows how one will react at such times of crisis. We were never attacked and felt protected in the embassy building, which we did not leave. My husband was with me also, so we did not have to worry about each other,” she replied, as she added how she had received various e-mails and SMS messages from her family and friends in Switzerland and had been able to reassure them she was all right, in writing, as it was night time.
 
With the failed coup over and the government back in power, there is talk of re-introducing the death penalty in Turkey. So what was the atmosphere like in Ankara?
“We had noticed how, when we were back at our flat, how a convoy of hooting cars with passengers holding out Turkish flags passed by. Actually it was not dissimilar to what one might see after a football match. However, it was noticeable on the Sunday how few cars there were on the streets. In the meantime, the situation has calmed down. I do get the impression, however, that most people tend to stay at home after work rather than go out.”
 
When she was asked if current developments in Turkey gave her cause for concern, she said they did. “I am particularly worried about the possible re-introduction of the death penalty,” she said.
 
As to the future, Bürgi Dellsberger said she would stay on in Ankara and carry on with her work there.