Mr. Erdogan’s Jaw-Dropping Hypocrisy


Date posted: March 9, 2017

New York Times Editorial Board

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has gall. He has jailed tens of thousands of people, shuttered more than 150 media companies and called a referendum in April to enlarge his powers. Yet when local authorities in Germany, for security reasons, barred two Turkish ministers from campaigning on his behalf among Turks living in Germany, Mr. Erdogan exploded, accusing Germany of Nazi practices and knowing nothing about democracy. If he himself was barred from speaking in the country, he warned, he’d “set the world on fire.”

This is all the more galling knowing that among the scores of journalists jailed in Turkey is a reporter for Die Welt, with German and Turkish citizenship, whom Mr. Erdogan has accused of being a German spy and a “representative” of an outlawed Kurdish rebel group. Some furious German politicians have urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to tell Mr. Erdogan that he is not welcome in Germany. Properly, and wisely, she has not. Appearances by leading Turkish politicians, she said, “remain possible within the laws applicable here.” Permits for demonstrations are handled locally, though, and Ms. Merkel said she has no say in them.

Ms. Merkel does have security reasons for her restraint: Germany uses a NATO base in Turkey for reconnaissance aircraft in the fight against the Islamic State, and Ms. Merkel was the key force behind a European Union deal with Ankara by which Turkey helps stem the flow of refugees into Europe. But more important, Germany does not want to stoop to Mr. Erdogan’s level.

Though Germany is arguably among the most law-abiding and tolerant of the European democracies, the Germans must regularly contend with reminders of their Nazi past, especially by countries like Greece, Poland or Hungary that find themselves on the receiving end of European Union admonishment or censure. For the leader of a major nation and NATO ally to hurl such insults, however, especially when Mr. Erdogan himself has done so much to subvert freedom of speech and the rule of law in Turkey, is outrageous.

The estimated 1.5 million Turks in Germany eligible to vote in the Turkish referendum are obviously of major interest to Mr. Erdogan. The fact that Germany provides so many Turks with a livelihood argues against Mr. Erdogan’s accusations, while barring his surrogates from campaigning among them, as local authorities did, only gives him fodder.

The better response is to continuously remind Mr. Erdogan, his surrogates and his people that the freedoms so many Turks find in Germany are being systematically and shamelessly destroyed in Turkey.

Source: New York Times , March 8, 2017

Tags: | | |


Related News

Yalçınbayır: Turkey has tendency towards institutionalization of bribery, corruption

Former Deputy Prime Minister and a former leading member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır said on Sunday that bribery and corruption have always been in Turkish politics and that there is a tendency toward the institutionalization of such crimes in the country.

History will record this [AK Party’s attack on Hizmet] as well

And this [AK Party’s attack on Hizmet] too shall pass and be overcome. As many other problems and painful experiences are left behind, this storm will also become part of history someday. We will be held to account for all of our deeds, even those committed in secret, in the next world. Given that this is reality and that we strongly and firmly believe in it, we will keep walking our path without taking any instance of infidelity to heart.

Flautre: Investigation into Taraf daily, journalist over MGK docs ‘scandalous’

Hélène Flautre, the co-chairwoman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, has described the launch of an investigation into the Taraf daily and journalist Mehmet Baransu for publishing records of controversial National Security Council (MGK) documents as being “scandalous” and “inappropriate,” adding that she has serious concerns about freedom of the press in Turkey.

CHP applies to Constitutional Court for annulment of dershane law

Speaking to reporters during a press conference at Parliament on Friday, CHP deputy parliamentary group chairman Akif Hamzaçebi said his party has taken the dershane law, under which all dershanes across the country are to be closed down and about 40,000 school administrators reassigned, to the Constitutional Court.

Kosovo Extradition of Wanted Turkish ‘Gulenist’ Suspended

Kosovo prosecutor Ali Rexha on Thursday withdrew his request for the court to allow the extradition of Turkish citizen Ugur Toksoy, who was arrested on October 27 on a warrant arrest issued by Turkey.

Thousands pay final respects to Gülen’s brother in Erzurum

Seyfullah Gülen, who died at the age of 72 on Friday and was the brother of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, was laid to rest in a funeral attended by thousands of people in the eastern province of Erzurum on Sunday.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

In Case You Missed It

New York Times interviews Mr. Gulen

Turkish Gov’t Seizes 965 Gülen Movement Affiliated Firms With $11.3 Billion Worth

Islamic scholar Gülen rejects involvement with graft probe and wiretappings

Gov’t discriminates against Hizmet-affiliated private schools

Government as a black propaganda machine

Turkish gov’t pays cash rewards for arrest or death of Gülen supporters

Anti-democratic practices after graft probe reminiscent of Feb. 28 era

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News