Erdogan Plays the Race / Discrimination Card
Funny stuff : Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the country’s Parliament yesterday that those who oppose the plan of a company, sponsored by millions from Qatar, to buy Turkish Sabah atv and newspaper are racists / are discriminating against, well, Arabs I think. He also said that he isn’t angry just because his son is the owner of the company that’s buying Sabah.
If you believe that, I’ve got a wonderful bridge I’d like to sell you.
The opposition is critical of Erdoğan’s visit to Qatar and the flow of Qatari capital to the Çalık Group, which officially took over some media assets including Sabah newspaper and the atv channel. The group’s Qatari partner financed part of the $1.1 billion payment to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF). Çalık Group’s top executive is Erdoğan’s son-in-law.
Erdoğan first defended his trip to Qatar this month and said without official contacts Turkey’s exports to Qatar would have remained at $26 million and not increased to $480 billion.
“One should see this. Until five years ago Turkey was not there. Can we engage in discrimination in a globalizing world?” Erdogan asked rhetorically.
With “discrimination” he means “discriminating” against countries that are highly Islamist and against those who wish to turn Turkey into an Islamist country.
“A different approach is adopted when investments come to Turkey from Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. What is this indigestion? This is clearly discrimination. This is discrimination against capital,” said Erdoğan in Parliament.
Uh, yeah, you could call it discrimination but you could also call it standing up for what one believes in, refusing to support terrorism and dictatorial regimes either directly or indirectly, and a sense of self-preservation.
What’s happening in Turkey right now, is that Islamists like Erdogan and his family and relatives, are buying big media corporations. They’re trying to own the country’s news outlets. The reason? The media are the ones who started attacking Erdogan, and criticizing his policies. Erdogan et al. realize that if they want to succeed in their grand plan to Islamize Turkey, they have to own newspapers and TV channels.
So that’s what they’re doing now (they’re also pushing Kemalists out of important positions in universities and governmental agencies, all with the same goal).
And then he cries “racism” when Kemalists object.
What a crook.
Imagine the hue and cry if George W. stood up in Congress and lambasted the FCC for objecting to Jenna Bush buying the ABC network.
I’m a little confused now. Does this mean Erdogan and his son are part of the fabulously rich elite?
EU parliamentarians are probably now tripping over themselves in a race to support this fabulous enrichment of Erdogan’s son.
There is a Turkish saying: "Bal tutan parmagini yalar." It roughly translates as one who handles honey will lick his/her finger. And Turkish politics can be said to be, in the eyes of many, honey-handling. Especially so when it comes to right and center-right politicians and, I guess, electorate. Most notable exceptions have been Bulent Ecevit, Erdal Inonu, and Ahmet Necdet Sezer; all considered left, center-left, and yes, Kemalist/elitist politicians. I don’t want to be unfair to Devlet Bahceli, the nationalist party leader (ultra according to some), or to the infamous Deniz Baykal (’da’ chief Kemalist-in-charge); I haven’t heard of corruption (too much finger licking) charges against them.
These street-jerks, Arab-lovers, have no agenda of improving economy, it is how to sell the country for short-term capital gain and personal benefit. Due to this dependence on foreign investment, Turkish economy is so sensitive to even the tiniest fluctuations in the global markets. Do you know how many of AKP’s PhDs got their degree from Malaysia in two year Doctorate programs on the funds provided by Saudi money.
Yes, it is one of the rings of a carefully knitted grandeur plan to buy/intimidate media to eventually knock down all the barriers to the islamization of Turkey. They are boldly executing every step. We have only one hope left that is the supreme court’s banning 72 AKP representatives including Erdogan and hopefully president Gul. Even so, the picture would not look bright at all since Deniz Baykal’s supposedly leftist Kemalist party is suffering due to in-breeding problems and his insistance to stay as a leader by stopping every viable, young candiadate using old-time political tactics. Last but certainly not the least of one of their action plans lately, was to fake EU by modifing the infamous amendment number 301 of Turkish law that has to do with free-speech and insulting Turkishness. The modifications are mere nonsense - its main core stays the same, they just allowed first time offenders to bail out/acquit. I hope neither EU nor Turkish citizens would not be satisfied with that.
Throughout the 1800s, the Ottoman Empire had weak rulers. They fought wars they could not win, and when they lost, European countries came in and dictated to them their internal affairs.
The Ottoman rulers’ in pursuit of self-interest and the desire to maintain their position as monarchs, let the European powers push them around, grant more rights to Christian minorities while ignoring those of their peasant Muslim majority.
Eventually, through their constant interference, the Europeans came to a point where they were positioned to dismember and disembowel the remnants of the Ottoman Empire, but for Mustafa Kemal Pasha.
Today, Turkey is ruled by weak politicians who sell precious resources to Arabs with big money, allow EU parliamentarians dictate to them what laws they can have and how they must treat minorities, including those that form terrorist units and kill the weak politicians’ constituents to the tune of 40,o00 dead by now.
Vainglorious, seeking ever more riches and to rape and pillage the economy as much as they dare, these weak politicians let the European powers dictate how they should run the country’s internal affairs to maintain their power, while terrorist groups and diasporan minority communities wait in the wings licking their fingers waiting for the most opportune time to dismember and disembowel the Republic but for … the judiciary? Buyukanit?
Only time will tell.
As for owning media, it seems like Erdogan is learning from our "friend" Berlusconi.
Apart from that, I agree that CHP needs new, young people and that the judiciary should throw out the AK Parti.
Concerning article 301, the actual difference is that the government decides who gets sued. Probably they will decide that anyone who is famous in the EU (Orhan Pamuk, Arat Dink, etc.) will not get sued anymore. Also, Islamists won’t.
I agree with all of you guys, Michael, Nihat, A.A.B and Semi. To Semi: I’d not hope too much from BAnit as to my opinion he made a big strategical mistake by remaining silent when Dr(!) Gul’s name was being advocated by Islamist AKP circles before his election. They were smelling the air to feel the reaction from the Army and it was not the time to remain silent at all, the stakes could not have been higher. Such a key position is lost and President(!) Gul immediately got into action of diffusing appointments of many Islamists into key government and state positions. Honestly speaking, I am feeling ashamed of these charlatans representing Turkey in and out of the country. The destruction of their reign has probably taken away lot of the hard fought gains of Kemalist ideology. That truly makes me sick to my stomach. As for the judiciary, I have doubts that 7 out of 11 judges would approve of closing AKP, I hope I am guessing wrong.