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March for ‘justice’ by Erdogan opponents in Turkey gains momentum and alarms government – Washington Post

DUZCE, Turkey The midday sun was roasting, their limbs were aching, and the protesters, from Turkeys largest opposition party, still had 125 miles to march before Istanbul, their destination. The road had been hard: One elderly protester died of cardiac arrest and another was hospitalized with heart spasms.

But spirits were soaring as they walked through Duzce last week, holding banners that said justice to protest a spate of government arrests. A march that had seemed likely to fizzle or be stopped by the authorities had instead swelled in size since it left Ankara, the capital.

Pictures of the growing crowds were passed around on social media, attracting newcomers. The spectacle was provoking an increasingly venomous response from officials including charges of treason a sure sign the protest had touched a nerve, the organizers said.

The momentum seemed like a breakthrough for Turkeys cowed mainstream opposition as its supporters resorted to more-creative and desperate tactics to meet what they say is President Recep Tayyip Erdogans stranglehold over the states institutions such as parliament and the courts. But it also risked a violent confrontation with the authorities, especially as the march closed in on Istanbul, where thousands more people were likely to join the rally.

We shouldnt worry about it, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the opposition party, the Republican Peoples Party, or CHP, said about the potential for confrontation given the expected crowds in Istanbul. Erdogan should worry about it.

The march was called the day after the arrest last month of Enis Berberoglu, a CHP parliament member. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for giving an opposition newspaper a video purportedly showing Turkish intelligence sending weapons to Syria.

Berberoglu, a former journalist, was the first CHP lawmaker to be jailed during a state crackdown on suspected terrorists and ordinary dissidents since a failed coup last year, and his arrest was viewed by his party and others as an alarming escalation of the states campaign.

But it was just the last straw, said Aytug Atici, anotherCHP lawmaker. There had been outrage at the recent arrests of two teachers who had been on a months-long hunger strike to protest their dismissals from their jobs action they took on behalf of hundreds of other academics who have been summarily fired since the attempted coup.

And there were the ongoing trials of some of Turkeys most famous journalists, accused by prosecutors of treason, terrorism and other crimes, apparently for writing stories critical of the government.

So many people are being thrown in jail. So many things anger me, said Sabriye Demirici, 51, a doctor who participated in the march. She said that she was not affiliated with a political party and that the protest which had grown to several thousand people last week, from the hundreds who had left Ankara shows that ordinary citizens are uncomfortable with whats happening in the country right now.

Some ordinary citizens, anyway. On the road, Erdogans supporters taunted the marchers, holding up the flag of his Justice and Development Party. The president dismissed the need for such a march, arguing there were other ways for people to voice their complaints.

Walking around with a placard that says justice will not bring justice, he said, a few days after the march began. The place to search for justice in Turkey is parliament, he said, while also suggesting that it was wrong to march during the holy month of Ramadan and, more obliquely, that the protesters might be prosecuted.

The government has shown little patience for public demonstrations, which are tightly circumscribed because of Turkeys ongoing state of emergency. At the same time, the CHP had a reputation for avoiding confrontations with the authorities, rather than taking fierce stands at the ramparts.

Kilicdaroglu, the partys courtly leader, had faced derision for not holding street protests in April, after widespread reports of voting irregularities during a referendum that vastly expanded Erdogans powers. The complaints of inaction at a decisive moment had come from some in his own party.

People criticized this a lot, said Atici, the lawmaker, in praising Kilicdaroglus apparent change of heart.

Kilicdaroglu had also supported a government proposal last year to lift the immunity of members of parliament paving the way for the arrest of leaders of an opposition pro-Kurdish party and then, last month, the imprisonment of Berberoglu. In an interview last week, he said he did not regret the decision, asserting it was simply a part of his partys platform.

This time, the party had been left with little choice, he said. There is no parliament, he said. All the powers of the parliament have been transferred to Erdogan. There is no judiciary it is completely inside the political authority.

Turkey is losing democracy and blood, he said.

Along the march route last week, framed by rolling green hills, people appeared willing to put aside their misgivings about the CHP leader leading the march.

I dont think Kilicdaroglu is very effective, said Merve Sahin, a 19-year-old student who attended the protest with her boyfriend, Gurkan Turan, a 21-year old cook. Neither were members of the party. They attended because something needs to be done, Sahin said.

We thought this was a start, said Turan, rattling off a long list of grievances, including what he said was the mixing of religion and politics, the questions over the referendum vote and the jailing of academics and others.

There had been surprising shows of support along the march route, from honking cars and clusters of well-wishers, even here in Duzce, a stronghold for Erdogans supporters.

I feel great, said Atici, who was full of energy during one particularly grueling stretch of road, as his fellow protesters were wilting.

He had been engaged over the past year in his own novel protest, by refusing to cut his beard until the government lifted the state of emergency. He started growing it last July, and now, washed and combed out, it measured eight inches long.

The march, he said, had energized his party and stunned officials who were expecting that the CHP will give it up, after a few days, he said. Buoyed by their success, some of his fellow lawmakers compared their leaders stand, a little grandly, to Mohandas Gandhis famed march to the sea. It was not that, at least not yet.

But from the oppositions perspective, it was a start. We needed something like this, Atici said.

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March for 'justice' by Erdogan opponents in Turkey gains momentum and alarms government - Washington Post

As Trump wages war on the media, the echoes of Erdogan grow louder – Washington Post

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There is a surreal goofiness to President Trumps relentless war on Americas mainstream media.The disgruntled president responds to negative covfefe with cheesy hashtags and nicknames for his perceived adversaries: Theres psycho Joe Scarborough and low I.Q. crazy Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC, the failing New York Times and The Washington Post (for the record,were both doing pretty well in the age of Trump), and Trumps favorite target, fake or fraud CNN.

On Sunday, Trump, who was sitting at a golf course he owns in New Jersey, tweeted a childishclip of him wrestling down a person representing CNN.

At a time when aGOP politician has actually body-slammed a journalist, it wasnt funny. Brian Stelter, CNNs media reporter, tweeted a CNN statementsaying it was a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters.

President Trump renewed his attacks against CNN, which he has repeatedly called "fake news," on June 27, after CNN retracted a story about ties between a Trump associate and a Russian investment fund. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

But for Trump, the relentless drumbeat of anger against the press is a clear political tactic, designed to stoke his baseand build up anarrative of victimization. The president has complained virtually nonstop since taking office about the supposedly unfair coverage surrounding the White House, casting journalists as the opposition. He has also repeatedly broken assumed conventions of decency in American politics, fanned the flames of right-wing extremism among his support, and shamelessly spouted numerous falsehoodsonboth trivial and consequential matters. His behavior has compelledthe press coverage he now decries.

Of course, theres a legitimate conversation to be had about whether the media is biased against Trump, a president who radically reshaped the political climate in Washington. This week, for instance, CNN was forced to retract a botched investigative story on the Trump camps Russian connections. The network even let go three senior journalists associated with the piece.

Trump and his supporters crowed about the mistake, but pointedly ignored CNNs willingness to hold itself accountable for its mistakes a willingness Trump never has displayed overhis own misstatements and incendiary remarks. The president instead keeps usinghis social media megaphone and his proxies in theright-wing media bubble to denounce the entire media establishment as enemies of the American people.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) warned Trump against trying to weaponize distrust of the media. Butno matter the (softly spoken)censure from fellow Republican politicians,Trump cant seem to do any wrong in the eyes of his core supporters.

They like him, they believe in him, they have not to any large degree been shaken from him, and the more the media attacks him, the more it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy on the side of the Trump supporters who fervently believe the media treat him unfairly, said Tony Fabrizio, the chief pollster for Trumps campaign, to my colleagues. Its like, Beat me with that sword some more!

Trump is hardly the first politician to weaponize distrust of the media. In the wake of Trumps Sunday tweet, Richard Haass, the president of the indisputably bipartisan Council on Foreign Relations, likened Trumps rhetoric to that of a more practiced strongman president.

The stakes in Turkey are, of course, profoundly greater.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withstood a violent coup attempt a year ago, which prompted his government to embark on a vast purge of state institutions and civil society. More than 100journalists have been thrown into prisonor forced into exile. Dozens ofmedia outlets have been closed or taken over by state authorities.Newspapers that were once titans of the establishment have seen their editors criminalized and offices raided.

But there are some importantsimilarities to bear in mind. Both Erdogan and Trump channel a kind of majoritarian nationalismanchored in grievance at cosmopolitan elites. And both paint their critics as threats to the nation. Over the weekend, Erdogan labeled a peaceful opposition protest marchfrom Ankara to Istanbul as the work of terrorist sympathizers.

The echoes of Erdogan in Trumps political style offer an uncomfortable new realityfor Americans,suggested Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman.

It is that, given enough time, any democratic system is vulnerable to assaults from a determined, dictatorial leader, wrote Rachmanearlier this year. Mr. Erdogan became prime minister in 2003 and, over time, utterly changed his country. As one Turkish intellectual put it to me ... Things that I would once have thought impossible are now happening on a daily basis.

Trump is not yet going nearly as far as Erdogan, who jails journalists, but the preliminary logic is the same an attempt to undermine the credibility of those who hold power to account, wrote Brian Klaas, a fellow at the London School of Economics and author ofa recent book on the erosion of democracies, in January.

The German newsweeklyDer Spiegel put it moststarkly in a February editorial: Erdogan and Trump are positioning themselves as the only ones capable of truly understanding the people and speaking for them. Its their view that freedom of the press does not protect democracy and that the press isnt reverent enough to them and is therefore useless. They believe that the words that come from their mouths as powerful leaders are the truth and that the media, when it strays from them, is telling lies. Thats autocratic thinking and it is how you sustain a dictatorship.

Tellingly, the two leaders have defended the other from their critics. In the wake of Erdogans purge, Trump said the United States didnt have much right to criticize the Turkish presidents crackdown; in the wake of Trumps inauguration, Erdogan described protests against the new president as disrespectful and applauded Trumps singling out CNN as fake news during a testy exchange at a news conference.

That day, Erdogancongratulated Trump for putting the CNN reporter in his place. Its the same sentiment many Trump supporters probablyfeel with every new hashtag and barbed insult hurled at journalists.

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As Trump wages war on the media, the echoes of Erdogan grow louder - Washington Post

‘We’ll KETTLE Trump, Erdogan and Putin’ Protestors plot violence at G20 summit in Hamburg – Express.co.uk

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Hamburg is on high alert as protesters plan to take advantage of the meeting being organised in a densely populated, inner city area

Clashes and arrests have already taken place in the German city with several injuries being reported.

Now, protesters are planning to use the citys landscape to stop the worlds most powerful leaders meeting without disruption.

Police will ban demonstrations within a 38 square kilometre zone from the airport to the conference centre where the leaders are meeting on July 7 and 8.

Campaigners aim to block access in and out of the summit venue which borders the densely populated Schanzenviertel district.

Delegates will likely only be able to enter the venue from the west.

Mass bike rides are planned by protestors to stop traffic and outdoor cinema screenings in the street will attempt to seriously disrupt the days proceedings.

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Protesters are used to being kettled [a police tactic used to contain crowds during demonstrations]

Emily Laquer

Emily Laquer, a spokesperson for one march, said: Protesters are used to being kettled [a police tactic used to contain crowds during demonstrations].

At the G20, were going to turn the tables on Trump, Putin and Erdoan.

A warning has gone out to anyone attempting to get in the way of the guests of the G20.

Social Democratic party interior senator, Andy Grote, said protesters should not try anything dangerous or reckless.

He said: Security forces will see every hold-up as a major emergency, even if its just because of a harmless demonstration.

They wont stop under any circumstances.

Inside, climate change and free trade will be at the top of the agenda for Germanys Angle Merkel - just weeks after the USA refused to take part in the Paris Accord.

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REUTERS

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German Chancellor Merkel reacts as she receives guests at the Chancellery in Berlin

Violent clashes have overshadowed the gathering in the past.

The G8 summit in Genoa ended in chaos when 200,000 demonstrators took to the streets and Italian anti-globalisation protester, Carlos Giuliani, was shot dead in 2001.

While German authorities are confident of being able to control campaigners - around 100,000 are expected to march on G20.

Jan Reinicke, of the Association of Criminal Police, said: Many of my colleagues and I find it incomprehensible that another big city has been chosen for such a gathering after the terrible events of Genoa.

Reinicke said there are growing fears there could be another Genoa.

Block G20 protesters have denied accusations they are directly target politicians.

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Nico Berg, a spokesperson for Block G20, said: Trump and co should be able to be helicoptered into the conference centre either way.

But we will make sure that his sherpas with the paperwork, the press entourage and the lunchtime catering wont be able to join them there.

Mr Reinicke said: There will be 20 delegations, each of which will need a choice of three secured routes into the centre, in case of emergency changes of plan.

The potential risk scenarios are varied and hard to predict. Of course the concern is that the violence in the inner-city areas could escalate and we end up with another Genoa.

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'We'll KETTLE Trump, Erdogan and Putin' Protestors plot violence at G20 summit in Hamburg - Express.co.uk

‘Dare to be in Conflict’: Merkel Rival Calls Her Soft on Trump, Putin, Erdogan – Sputnik International

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03:46 03.07.2017(updated 08:42 03.07.2017) Get short URL

Martin Schulz, a Social Democrat (SPD), has been hitting the campaign stump inhis attempt tounseat Merkel, butis currently a long shot despitetaking a brief lead inthe polls back inJanuary

AP Photo/ Martin Meissner

Schulz, inclaiming that Merkel does not go far enough tocounter comments aboutGermany bythe US president that are seen asbeing onthe rude side ofblunt, stated, "I would say toTrump: We don't agree withyour reasoning overa military buildup, which isn't justified byanything."

The center-left SPD party candidate asserted, "The German chancellor must sometimes dare tobe inconflict withthe American president," according toDeutsche Welle.

Merkel has been seen tobe patient withTrump's often outlandish and undiplomatic behavior, including afterthe US president suggested that the three-time German chancellor was "ruining Germany" byaccepting refugees.

Trump also referred toGermany as "very bad," because ofits trade imbalances, duringa meeting ofNATO leaders.

Schulz, a former president ofthe EU, stated ina clear reference toRussian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that his words were "not just forMerkel," aswith a G20 summit inHamburg coming up, "a democratic government needs toask itself if it wants tojoin inconsensus declarations withautocrats."

"Should we be making concessions toTrump, Erdogan and Putin? No," Schulz told Germany's Welt an Sommtag newspaper. "You can also give a president a clear no," the candidate suggested, referring toMerkel's diplomatic ability tokeep a political debate fromdescending intomere name-calling.

Schulz has seen the tide ofenthusiasm forhis candidacy ebb inrecent weeks infavor ofMerkel. A recent survey fromGerman polling agency INSA revealed that 37 percent ofvoters inthe country favor ofMerkel and just 24 percent support Schultz.

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'Dare to be in Conflict': Merkel Rival Calls Her Soft on Trump, Putin, Erdogan - Sputnik International

Erdogan, Trump talk amid dispute over arms to Kurd fighters – Military Times

ANKARA, Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with President Trump amid tensions over Washington's decision to arm Syrian Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State group, a Turkish official said Friday.

Mahir Unal, a spokesman for Erdogan's ruling party, said the two leaders spoke by phone but did not provide details on their discussions. He told reporters, however, that the Turkish leader later also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Turkey considers the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia group the People's Protection Units, or YPG to be terrorists linked to outlawed Kurdish insurgents in its country.

The YPG is the largest group within the Syrian Democratic Forces battling to oust ISIS from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

Ankara has vowed to intervene if the YPG poses a security threat. This week Turkey's military returned fire in response to a cross-border attack by the group.

Earlier, Brett McGurk, the top U.S. envoy for the international coalition against ISIS, met with Turkish foreign ministry and military officials, a Turkish official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

McGurk said on Twitter he was holding consultations with Turkey on "mutual efforts to defeat (ISIS) and ensure it can never return."

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Erdogan, Trump talk amid dispute over arms to Kurd fighters - Military Times