- Title: Berlin tightens its security ahead of Obama visit
- Date: 15th November 2016
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 15, 2016) (REUTERS) VEHICLE OF BERLIN CITY CLEANING COMPANY IN CHARGE OF SEALING OFF MANHOLES IN FRONT OF BRANDENBURG GATE VARIOUS OF WORKERS SEALING OFF MAN-HOLES WORKERS OF BERLIN CITY CLEANING COMPANY WALKING WITH EQUIPMENT BRANDENBURG GATE WITH BARRIERS BARRIERS AT BRANDENBURG GATE VARIOUS OF WORKERS SEALING OF MANHOLES AT BRANDENBURG GATE BARRIERS ON STREET BEHIND BRANDENBURG GATE STREET TO VICTORY COLUMN VARIOUS OF POLICE COVERING RUBBISH BIN AT BRANDENBURG GATE BARRIERS AT BRANDENBURG GATE VARIOUS OF WORKERS SEALING OFF MANHOLES VARIOUS OF U.S. EMBASSY U.S. FLAG VARIOUS OF MAP WITH RESTRICTED TRAFFIC ZONES BARRIERS IN FRONT OF U.S. EMBASSY POLICE OUTSIDE U.S. EMBASSY U.S. FLAG WRITING: 'EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' POLICE CARS IN FRONT OF HOTEL ADLON AND U.S. EMBASSY POLICE CAR SIGN: 'HOTEL ADLON' TOURISTS AND POLICE OUTSIDE HOTEL ADLON EXTERIOR OF POLICE BERLIN HEADQUARTERS SIGN: 'POLICE BERLIN HEADQUARTERS' (SOUNDBITE) (German) MICHAEL GASSEN, SPOKESMAN POLICE BERLIN, SAYING: "It will be a major operation for my colleagues. Police from other Federal states will support us during the period of the visit. The traffic restrictions will be significant." SIGN FOR BERLIN POLICE ON SLEEVE OF JACKET (SOUNDBITE) (German) MICHAEL GASSEN, SPOKESMAN POLICE BERLIN, SAYING: "There will be several traffic restrictions around the Brandenburg Gate and the German Chancellory. Berliners should anticipate traffic jams. Furthermore, there will be a no-fly zone over Berlin." SIGN ON WALL, READING 'POLICE BERLIN'
- Embargoed: 30th November 2016 13:47
- Keywords: Germany Berlin Obama visit security police Adlon
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00158K2E6F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Police stepped up their security on Monday (November 15), one day before U.S. President Obama takes his good-bye tour of Europe.
Manholes were covered, barriers erected and the police presence in general increased around the famous Berlin landmark Brandenburg Gate and the U.S. embassy.
Police confirmed that large sections of the Regierungsviertel (government quarter) of Berlin will be blocked off to the general public during those days, warning Berliners to anticipate traffic jams.
A Berlin newspaper reported on Monday that residents of Wilhelmstrasse (behind the Brandenburg Gate and overlooking parts of the U.S. embassy) were told over the weekend to keep their windows closed as of Wednesday (November 16) and not to leave their house without proper identification.
The outgoing U.S. president is expected to land on Wednesday evening at the military airport in Tegel. He is expected to fly on Friday (November 18) to Peru to attend the APEC CEO summit.
During those three days, traffic will be heavily restricted in parts of the city and there will be a no-fly zone over Berlin, the Berlin police said.
The outgoing U.S. president will arrive from Greece where he met with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Obama was hailed as the heir to John F. Kennedy, who came to a divided Berlin in 1963, two years after construction of the Berlin Wall began, and reassured Germans with the word "Ich bin ein Berliner". Obama, who developed a close relationship with Merkel in his eight years in office, will make what promises to be a bittersweet farewell visit to Berlin this week.
Donald Trump's win in the U.S. presidential election heralds a hard break in a relationship that grew extremely close during the Cold War, before wobbling when Germany refused to go along with Bush's Iraq war and was derided by his Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as "old Europe".
Last week, Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung published a cartoon of a beaming Trump opening his jacket to reveal the message "Ich bin kein Berliner" (I am not a Berliner) plastered across his chest. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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