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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the attempted coup in front of the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Turkey, July 16, 2017.(photo byREUTERS/Umit Bektas)

Author:Pinar Tremblay Posted July 28, 2017

Celebrities sometimes suffer the consequences of overexposure, when their audiences turn away, tired of seeing them everywhere. Turkey's ubiquitous president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appears to be feeling the effects of something similar: Erdogan fatigue.

Erdogan watches public opinion polls closely. His ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) routinely employs polling agencies to check the pulse of the nation, particularly those who identify with the party:That'sone of the reasons why Erdogan has been able to claim and supposedlysustain his popularity.These polls are usually just for party insiders'eyes. However, in mid-July,Nuray Babacan from the daily newspaper Hurriyet reported that the results of two polls conducted after the April 16 constitutional referendum were leaked to the press.

One of the polls was aboutAKP voters'choice on the April 16 referendum, which greatly expanded the powers of the presidency. The poll showed that about 4% to 12% of the AKP base voted against the referendum. Also, Erdogan's fear of losing the youth vote was real:Only 35% of the AKPyouth voted for the constitutionalamendments.

The overall results of the April 16 referendum weren't pleasantfor Erdogan, either; his dubious victory came with a significant loss of major cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Out of 30 major cities, 17 voted no. Also, about 60% of first-time votersvoted no. The long-dreaded truth has become clear: Erdogan lost the support of urban youth between the ages of 16 and 25.

The second poll aimed to compare the main opposition party's 25-day-long Justice Marchto the 2013 Gezi Park protests. About 60% of the overall population and 35% of AKP voters said they supported the Republican People'sPartymarch, which ended earlier this month, andabout 25% of AKP voters said they had no opinion.

Evenmore worrisome for Erdogan is that 76% of the population polled doesn't trust the justice system.

Hence, on May 30, after becoming AKP chairmanonce again, Erdogan said, "We will review and update all our provincial organizations in the cities, districts and villages because there is a metalfatigue that we need to [overcome]. We have to get ready for the 2019 elections with more dynamic and hardworking teams."

The strongest response to Erdogan's words came from Temel Karamollaoglu, chairman of the Islamist Felicity Party. Karamollaoglu said changing the cadres of the AKPwill be useless as long as the mentality the fatigued metal does not change.

Isit fair for one man to claim a victory as his own accomplishment while blaming the loss on the party?Since the end of May, Erdogan has used various opportunities to tell AKP members to be ready for a shakeup. Meanwhile, pro-AKP columnists keep busy explaining ways to overcome this exhaustion.

Yet, is altering the party ranks sufficient to shake off the exhaustion? The Cabinet was shuffled recently, but it didn't cause muchexcitement. People know well that Cabinet members, the prime minister or senior bureaucrats are only a means to serve Erdogans agenda or as it is commonly referred to in Ankara, the palace's wishes. So, are the party cadres really the problem,or is the entire countryfeeling Erdogan fatigue?

The phrase "Erdogan fatigue"has beenused now and thensince he became president in2014, after serving as prime minister since 2003.It's unlikely that any political leader who serves longer than a decade will have consistently high popularity ratings. It's normal for people to demand new figures in politics.

No one ismentioningpotential challengers to Erdogan for the 2019 elections;still,Turks are increasingly exhausted by Erdogan's omnipresence. The AKP's leaked post-referendum polls are one indication. Another came during late-night ceremonies marking the one-year anniversary of the failed coup July 15. Before mobile phone users could make calls, they were subjected to a 16-second automatedanniversarystatement fromErdogan, promptinganoutburst by annoyed social media users.As emergency law becomes the new normal in Turkey, with arbitrary acts by law enforcement and courts, people are growing weary.

Plus, political snitching is encouraged and surveillance of ordinary people is becoming common in Turkey. For example, the AKP's Istanbul metropolitan municipality will start a program in that requires all taxis to have audio and visual recordings of passengers. As public discontent increases, so does the surveillance.

When faced with criticism, Erdogan is not known to avoid confrontation. To the contrary, his popularity once thrived on displays of angry outbursts and macho tantrums. Yet, the returns on Erdogan's anger are diminishing. So another reason forErdogan fatigue is the high cost Turks haveaccrued due to unsuccessful policies. This is most visibleon the international front, where hiding facts may not be so easy for the AKP government.

For example, theEU Parliament has voted to suspend Turkey's accession talks. Germany and Greece are only a few of the countries that refuseto extradite Turkish soldiers and other alleged coup participants. Even though Turkey is a fellow NATO member,Germany is not only relocating its troops from Incirlik air baseto Jordan; it justwarnedits citizens against traveling and investing in Turkey. After Turkey suffered sanctions forshootingdown a Russian jet, Erdogantook numerous measures to make amends, but he still hasn't even managed to get Moscow's permission to resumetomato exportsto Russia. The financial and human cost of Turkish involvement in Syria is still unknown. Despite all promises about drying mother's tears, Erdogan has failed to provide a sustainable peace with the Kurds. Plus, hewasn'table to convince the United States to stopprovidingmilitary aid to the KurdishPeople's Protection Units in Syria.

There is no credible data to compile a complete picture of Turkish gains and losses. But,given that Turkey ranks sixth in the world in number of diplomatic missions abroad, Turkish foreign policy has not been able to deliver most of its stated goals. To the contrary, just the above-mentioned few facts cost various segments of Turkish society dearly,from farming to hospitality industries. As Turkey's credibility in the international realm melts like ice cubes in the desert, Turks find it rather difficult to blame anyone but Erdogan.

As for domestic politics, just looking at the wild and generous promises Erdogan made before the April 16 referendum is sufficient to see how big the disappointmentmust be for those who supported him.Erdogan promised the world to his voters if the referendum passed. Now, however,with a razor-thin and contested victory, the only promise is an intra-party shakeup.

A seasoned pro-AKP communications scholartold Al-Monitor,"Backbiting has reached its peak in AKP ranks after theJuly 15 coup. Loyalty to Erdogan is the foremost important criteria for survival."Some people are very unhappy "despite cushy jobs in government."

The scholar added, "However, they cannot leave. Any resignation or firing right now means you are marked as a Gulen movement supporter [and therefore part of the coup attempt]. No one can afford that. Yet, 'yes men'do not help produce sound policies. They are only good to generate save-the-day sound bites. This leads to an extremely lonely Erdogan, without access to wise guidance or opportunity to see his errors."

Given all his fears, we can only expect Erdogan to keep increasing the pressure on any critic, domestic or international.

Erdogan gained and sustained his popularity to an extent byprojecting the image of an underdog. He has situated himself and his Islamist movement as victims of a staunchly secularist system. Yet, this routine has been wearing thin for quite some time. Erdogan has proved that he can flip-flop on his promises and most endearing commitments as he did with Israel over the Gaza flotilla dispute. Abuse of state power as well as increasing nepotism are only a few of the mounting problems adding toErdogan fatigue.

Most people in Turkey are tired of listening to Erdogan's undeliverable promises and angry rhetoric. Yet, when you turn off the television or the internet, he appears on your phone at midnight. The fatigue cycle continues.

Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/07/turkey-why-erdogan-fatigue-deepens.html

Original post:
Turkey's pervasive president may be wearing out his welcome - Al-Monitor

Turkeys presidency is a ceremonial role, or it was until Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the countrys first directly-elected head of state in August of 2014.

Mr. Erdogan had already served three terms as prime minister. Term limits meant he had to step down, so he ran for president, won handily and began remaking the office to suit his political ambitions.

The one-time Islamist activist has been transforming the former democracy into a de facto dictatorship ever since an effort that was given a huge boost by a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Post-coup, Mr. Erdogan has held his country in an indefinite state of emergency, which he has exploited to justify multiple violations of basic rights and the silencing of the press.

In April, he orchestrated a referendum on constitutional amendments that abolished the office of prime minister and consolidated a number of critical powers in the presidents office, including the power to appoint judges and prosecutors.

Opponents of the amendments were systematically silenced by Mr. Erdogan, helping him win a slim majority, with 51.4 per cent of the vote. His margin of victory was bolstered by a friendly court decision that allowed the inclusion of unstamped ballots, raising doubts about the legitimacy of the referendum.

Mr. Erdogan is now the supreme and untouchable ruler of Turkey. Turks were reminded of his omnipotence in Orwellian fashion on July 15 of this year, when mobile phone users trying to make a call were first obliged to listen to a recorded message from him marking the anniversary of the attempted coup dtat.

In essence, the failed coup in the immediate aftermath of which Mr. Erdogan and his allies boohooed about the pain of seeing their countrys democracy under attack has led to the very real overthrow of that same democracy by those very same people.

The examples of Mr. Erdogans repression are many.

He has pursued the suspected followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he immediately and conveniently fingered as the mastermind behind the failed coup, with brutal, relentless vigour.

He has arrested at least 50,000 people, including human-rights activists, half the senior military ranks, thousands of police officers and hundreds of journalists, many of whom have been jailed without even the veneer of due process.

As well, about 150,000 public servants have been sacked, including dozens of judges; 6,000 university professors have been dismissed; and dozens of media outlets have been shut down.

On Monday, 17 journalists from Turkeys last major independent newspaper were put on trial on terrorism charges. They stand accused because they contacted suspected Gulenists and wrote about them, and quoted their social media postings. Twelve of the journalists have been in jail for nine months, for the crime of doing their jobs.

Mr. Erdogan has also seized as many as 950 companies, with $11-billion in assets, on spurious grounds that the owners were sympathetic to the Gulenists. Executives have had to flee the country or face arrest.

Citizens have been detained for the crime of insulting the president, or, in the case of a fashion model and former Miss Turkey, sharing a satirical poem on social media.

The countrys small Christian population is now living in fear, after the government confiscated as many as 50 churches and the land around them.

Turkey has also taken to squabbling openly with its putative NATO allies. In late July, it leaked details of French and American military positions in Syria, an egregious betrayal.

Turkeys relentless human-rights abuses, including the arrest of German human rights workers and Mr. Erdogans willingness to bring back the death penalty, have now also put its entry into the European Union into question a blow to both the EU and Turkey.

Canada has been affected, too. According to Amnesty International, at least five dual Canadian/Turkish citizens have been detained and denied consular access. The number of Turks seeking political asylum in Canada has surged by a factor of five this year.

None of this was necessary. All of it is the product of Mr. Erdogans naked quest for autocratic control. He has used a minor coup attempt of disputed origins as a pretext to end democracy.

A leader who was a democrat would not have taken these steps. Mr. Erdogan has turned what should have been, at worst, temporary measures until order was restored, into an ongoing repression of civil and political liberties, returning Turkey to dictatorship.

While he and his followers celebrate the anniversary of the failed coup with grand ceremonies, a fresh roundup of 6,000 political opponents, and the renaming of streets and landmarks to suit the new regime the free world can only mourn the death of a democratic ally.

Follow us on Twitter: @GlobeDebate

Read more here:
Globe editorial: Under Erdogan, Turkey descends into dictatorship - The Globe and Mail

A Turkish reporter admitted that he inaccurately quoted White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who was reported to have lavished praise on Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

A White House official told The Daily Caller Thursday that the quote in the Turkish newspaper AKSAM was made up. The reporter, Yavuz Atalay, admitted as much when contacted by TheDC.

The articlepublished Thursday claimed that Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law, said that Erdogan is making Turkey bigger again like US. We watch his efforts with appreciation.

The piece included a selfie with both Kushner and Atalay.

He [Atalay] approached Jared for a selfie but is not quoted accurately, a White House official told TheDC. Its made up.

Atalay also claimed that Ivanka Trump told him she loves Turkey and that Jared praised Turkeys economy. The White House did not respond to a follow-up question about Ivankas comments and whether the article in its entirety is a fabrication.

When asked over Twitter direct message about the White House pushback, Atalay initially refused to address the claim that he made up a quote.

That was not an interview. I didnt get any permit from Kushners office or Ivankas office or White House. As I mentioned in the report it was a very quick conversation with him (1-2 min.), Atalay said.

When pressed further on whether the Kushner quote was accurate, Atalay said,He did not say that. I asked him, Do you think, Erdogan is making Turkey great again, like Trump and he only said, Yeah, I think so.'

A native Turkish speaker who reviewed Atalays article said that the reporter has a history of making bombastic claims about the Trump administrations view of Erdogan and the Turkish government.

The source pointed to a Feb. 9 article in which Atalay reported that White House sources said that Trump told Erdogan in a phone call that he would order intelligence agencies to prepare an investigative file on Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in exile in the U.S. Erdogan has asked the U.S. government to extradite Gulen, who he considers a terrorist.

Erdogan-controlled Turkish media outlets regularly publish inaccurate reports about Gulen.

In an article published in November, Atalay reported that his sources told him that some of Gulens followers requested a meeting with Trump through then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence. According to Atalay, Trump declined the meeting, saying he will not sit together with terrorists. Pence passed this message on to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who then relayed the information to the Gulenists.

No other outlets have reported that chain of events.

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Reporter Admits Fabricating Kushner Quote | The Daily Caller - The Daily Caller

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid. (photo credit:Courtesy)

Turkey needs to know they cannot continue to kick Israel, and Israel will come back and ask for more, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said Thursday in reaction to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fanning the flames surrounding the tensions on the Temple Mount.

The time has come to stop ingratiating ourselves to the Turks, who every time come and kick us harder, he told journalists during a briefing in Tel Aviv.

We need to say, 'okay, we understand, now we have to run our own policy: from now on we support the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, we need to recognize the Armenian genocide, we need to do all the things that we didn't do when we had good relations with Turkey, because we don't, and we will not have in the future, he said.

He also said that Israel needs to give up the idea of a gas pipeline to Turkey.

Israel cannot allow itself to be dependent on a consumer which has for all intents and purposes turned into a hostile or semi-hostile state, he said.

The Yesh Atid leaders topped short, however, of calling for a closure of the embassy in Ankara and a break in diplomatic ties, saying that Israel needed in any event to work with less friendly countries.

But, he said, the Turks have to know that they can always kick us, and we come back and ask for more.

Erdogan, over the last two days, has made a number of inflammatory comments relating to the Temple Mount crisis, including calling on the Muslim world to defend al-Aksa, and saying that IDF soldiers were dirtying the site with their boots.

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Lapid on Erdogan comments: Israel should support Kurdish state, recognize Armenian genocide - The Jerusalem Post

In his strongest statement since the Temple Mount crisis began, Turkish president also calls on world's Muslims to actively defend the mosque

Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan said in an Ankara speech at an AKP party meeting in parliament that Israel is trying to take the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Muslims under the guise of efforts to fight terrorism.

"Everyone who knows Israel is aware that restrictions on Al-Aqsa mosque are not due to safety concerns," Erdogan said in his strongest statement since the crisis began on the Temple Mount.

The Turkish president was one of the prominent leaders of the Muslim world that attacked Israel in recent days following the placement of metal detectors at entrances to the Temple Mount. Erdogan, who serves as the rotating president of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, held a series of phone calls with Arab and Muslim leaders and even raised the issue in a meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz earlier this week.

Erdogan called on the world's Muslims to take an active part of the defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. "When Israeli soldiers carelessly pollute the grounds of Al-Aqsa with their combat boots by using simple issues as a pretext and then easily spill blood there, the reason [they are able to do that] is we [Muslims] have not done enough to stake our claim over Jerusalem."

The Turkish president also came out against the recent attacks against synagogues in Turkey by Muslim extremists, saying that it is a mistake to respond to one injustice by causing another.

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On Saturday,Erdogan condemned Israel over the crisis and what he described as excessive use of force against Muslim worshippers. "Closing Temple Mount for days and imposing restrictions on Muslims is unacceptable," Erdogan said. "I call on the international community to intervene."

President Reuven Rivlin and Erdogan discussed the Temple Mount crisis in a phone call on Thursday.The Israeli President's Residence said that the call took place at Erdogan's request. A senior Israeli official said that the Foreign Ministry opposed to the call taking place, and even passed on a negative assessment of it earlier in the day.

The President's Residence said that during their conversation, Rivlin clarified to his Turkish counterpart that "the terror attack that occurred last Friday at the Temple Mount, a sacred site for all of us, is an unacceptable crossing of a red line that jeopardizes our ability to live together."

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Originally posted here:
Erdogan: Under Guise of Fighting Terror, Israel Trying to Take Al-Aqsa Mosque From Muslims - Haaretz