Freedom of speech - NL vs Erdogan

[rowan]

Meanwhile, this is undoubtedly intended to distract attention from other issues. For example, the last thing I posted on the Turkish 15/7/16 thread:

The United Nations has accused Turkey of ‘serious’ human rights violations during operations against Kurdish separatists in the south-east of the country.

The UN says up to half a million people were displaced and at least 2000 people killed from July 2015.

The town of Cizre is said to have seen destruction on a massive scale.

Numerous disappearances and instances of torture were also documented in a report released by the UN human rights office on Friday.

http://www.euronews.com/app_prod_com.ph ... dish-south

[rowan]

The latest diatribe from a man known for his brutal responses to civilian protests:

Those in Europe who make dogs bite Turkish protesters are "no different from gladiators in ancient Rome," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on March 17, referring to the Dutch police intervention against Turkish pro-government demonstrators in Rotterdam last weekend.

“What difference do those who make dogs bite my brother Hüseyin Kurt have from the gladiators in ancient Rome? There is no difference, it is the same,” Erdoğan told a rally in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir.

The blocking of Turkish ministers by the Dutch authorities last weekend was followed by protests in Rotterdam, with local police using horses and dogs to disperse demonstrators. The images were widely reported in the Turkish press and prompted an angry reaction from the government.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/those- ... sCatID=510

[rowan]

Turkish Daily cover:

[rowan]

So, aside from Erdogan ordering all his subjects in Europe to have five children and go and live in the best houses (is he financing any of this??), things appear to have settled down a bit. Perhaps because the Turks are too busy celebrating Victory at Gallipoli Day right now. Yes, WWI is remembered very much as a triumph by Turks, which brought about the birth of their proud nation. The only other holiday connected to it is actual Victory Day itself, at the end of August, commemorating their win over the invading Greeks immediately afterward. The fact they lose their empire in this war does not register with them as having been a defeat of any sort.

[rowan]

Anyway, there are some good things happening in Turkey, and the people shouldn't be blamed for Erdo's antics since they're not having much say in anything these day.

[rowan]

Spoke too soon. There's no shutting this guy up. He & his PM both rant for several hours daily on TV, while the squeaky-voiced leader of the main opposition gets about 15 minutes and the Kurdish-focused party leaders have all been thrown in prison on obscure charges 'related to terrorism:'

Europe’s “masquerade ball’ is over, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told the continent following his most recent spat with domestic and foreign enemies, slamming countries such as Germany and the Netherlands for banning Turkish ministers from conducting constitutional amendment campaigns.

“What has been happening in Europe lately shows that the struggle against my country and against our struggle has passed to a new stage. Those who tried to come at us with their men, with the terrorists that they support and gave guns to, with the spies they bought with a dollar, are now in the field. My brothers and sisters, the masquerade ball is over,” Erdoğan said in a rally in Istanbul on March 19 after alleged sympathizers of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rallied in Frankfurt for Newroz celebrations, displaying symbols that Turkey has declared to be terrorist symbols.

“They set aside diplomacy. They do not have the urge to hide their intentions and cannot hide the discomfort they feel from Turkey, which is growing stronger,” said Erdoğan.

Erdoğan accused European countries of supporting the political campaigns of the opposition to constitutional amendments that will usher in an executive presidency with near-unencumbered powers for himself.

“They are overtly conducting a ‘no’ campaign through the newspaper headlines that they publish in Turkish.

They are allocating the biggest halls, the most central squares to the terrorists who are saying ‘no,’ while they cannot tolerate the word ‘yes,’” he said, referring to the Turkish headlines printed after a diplomatic crisis that erupted after Germany and the Netherlands prevented Turkish ministers and politicians from conducting campaign stops in the country.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/masque ... sCatID=510

More racist diatribe:

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blasted Chancellor Angela Merkel, accusing her of using’‘Nazi measures’‘.

The intensifying diplomatic row comes after German authorities blocked a series of Turkish political rallies ahead of the country’s upcoming constitutional referendum.

‘‘Merkel, You are right now employing Nazi measures. Against who? My Turkish brother citizens in Germany and brother ministers,” Erdogan said on Sunday.

The worsening ties between Berlin and Ankara, also saw Turkey summon Germany’s ambassador on Sunday to voice anger over a protest in Frankfurt on Saturday. That saw tens of thousands of Turkish Kurds rally against Erdogan and his bid to obtain new powers by changing Turkey’s constitution.

Meanwhile, in comments likely to cause further unease in Berlin, Erdogan also accused a jailed German journalist of being a terrorist. He insisted that Die Welt reporter Deniz Yucel, who was arrested last month, would be tried by Turkey’s independent judiciary.

http://www.euronews.com/2017/03/19/germ ... -merkel-of

[rowan]

He's gone from accusing Europeans of being Nazis to making veiled threats about their "safety" now . . .

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on March 22 that Europeans across the world would not be able to walk safely on the streets if they kept up their current attitude.

"If Europe continues this way, no European in any part of the world can walk safely on the streets. We, as Turkey, call on Europe to respect human rights and democracy," Erdoğan said at event for local journalists in Ankara.

Turkey has been embroiled in a row with Germany and the Netherlands over the barring of campaign appearances by Turkish officials seeking to drum up support for the April 16 referendum.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdoga ... sCatID=510

[rowan]

Latest from the Only in Turkey files:



U.K. Ambassador to Ankara Richard Moore has criticized ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Istanbul deputy Burhan Kuzu and daily Star editor-in-chief of Nuh Albayrak over their remarks on the March 22 U.K. parliament attack which killed four people and wounded 40.

“Terror attack in the U.K. Is the U.K. your safest region? Well, I can shoot you in your safest place, terror tells Europe with this attack,” Kuzu said in a tweet.



http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/uk-amb ... sCatID=351



A porn movie broadcast has been streamed through a municipality loudspeaker in one of the most populated neighborhoods of the Black Sea province of Kastamonu, in what the local mayor described as an “unmoral provocation,” Doğan News Agency has reported.

One local witness in the Kuzeykent neighborhood recorded 51 seconds of footage of the porn broadcasted from the loudspeaker at around 1:00 a.m. with a mobile phone and it immediately circulated on social media.


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/porn-m ... sCatID=341

[rowan]

I'm beginning to suspect a charade.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he would call the European countries fascists as long as they continue to call him a dictator.

"You have the freedom to call Erdoğan dictator but Erdoğan does not have the freedom to call them fascist or Nazi. Take no offense but I will call them fascist as long as they call Erdoğan dictator," Erdoğan told in a live interview with Doğan TV Ankara representative Hakan Çelik aired on CNN Türk and Kanal D on March 23.

Erdoğan also said he deplored the newly-elected German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s remarks targeting himself.

"German President Steinmeier made a statement targeting me although we are good friends. I deplore him for his statement. I wish he had never made such statement," he said.

In his first speech as president, Steinmeier said Erdoğan risked destroying everything his country had achieved in recent years and damaging ties with its partners.

“The way we look [at Turkey] is characterised by worry that everything that has been built up over years and decades is collapsing,” Steinmeier said on March 22 in his inaugural speech.

“President Erdoğan, you are jeopardising everything that you, with others, have built,”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/presid ... sCatID=510

[rowan]

Two police officers dismissed over killing of student at Nevruz celebrations

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/two-po ... sCatID=509

Meanwhile . . .

The Turkish-Kurdish painter and journalist Zehra Doğan has been sentenced to two years, nine months, and 22 days in prison for creating a painting which depicted the destruction caused by Turkish security forces in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province, a Kurdish region in Turkey.



https://news.artnet.com/art-world/paint ... ork-902015