Archive for the ‘Erdogan’ Category

Turkey hopeful as Erdogan meets Qatar defence minister – Gulf Times

Turkey on Saturday said it remained hopeful of a solution to the Gulf crisis that has seen its ally Qatar diplomatically isolated, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with the country's defence minister.

In Ankara's latest show of support for Qatar, Erdogan hosted Defence Minister Khaled bin Mohammed al-Attiyah for talks at the headquarters of the ruling party in Ankara.

The meeting came as Ankara, which has stood by Doha throughout the crisis, resists pressure to shutter a Turkish military base on Qatar that Qatar's neighbours want to see closed.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain announced on June 5 the suspension of political, economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremist groups.

Doha denies the claims, a stance backed by Turkey which has sent hundreds of aid flights and even a cargo ship to bring food for its embattled ally.

Ankara's attempts to mediate between the sides have so far come to nothing but after the talks in the Turkish capital presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said he was hopeful of a resolution.

There are some indications that a solution is possible. This is our general impression. We need to continue efforts to take measures that go in the right direction, he said.

Crucially, Ankara is also setting up a military base on Qatar that is set to give Turkey a new foothold in the Gulf, sending in a first deployment of two dozen troops.

Kalin defended the base, saying its aim was ensuring defence and security in the region.

Riyadh and its allies issued 13 demands to Qatar for resolving the crisis, including the closure of the Turkish military base and the Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

Turkey criticised the ultimatum but has also taken care not to directly target Saudi Arabia, the key protagonist in the crisis.

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Turkey hopeful as Erdogan meets Qatar defence minister - Gulf Times

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

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump amid tensions over Washingtons decision to arm Syrian Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State group, a Turkish official said Friday.

Mahir Unal, a spokesman for Erdogans 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 Peoples 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 IS from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

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

Turkeys president stressed the need to oppose all kinds of terrorist groups, including Kurdish rebels and IS, according to his office.

Earlier, Brett McGurk, the top U.S. envoy for the international coalition against IS, 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 (IS) and ensure it can never return.

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

Turkey: Erdogan slams CHP protest march – Anadolu Agency

No one believes that the main opposition party's aim is justice, says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

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ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 1: President of Turkey and ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during AK Party's provincial meeting in Ankara, Turkey on July 1, 2017. ( Halil Sarkaya - Anadolu Agency )

By Muhammed Boztepe and Kemal Karadag

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday once again slammed the main opposition party over its protest march launched after a party deputy got 25 years in prison for espionage.

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu began the march following the jailing of CHP lawmaker Enis Berberoglu, who was sentenced to 25 years for giving leaking information on the transportation of arms to Syria.

Speaking at his Justice and Development (AK) Party's provincial meeting in the capital Ankara, Erdogan said: "If you are launching a march for terrorists and for their supporters, something which you have never thought about doing against terrorist groups, you can convince no one that your aim is justice."

Erdogan accused the party of acting with terrorist groups and forces that incite such groups against Turkey.

"This situation, which anyone who in their right mind can see clearly, is part of traps set up in Syria, Iraq, the Gulf, and Europe against our country," he added.

Kilicdaroglu intends to complete the 450-kilometer (280-mile) walk from Ankara to Maltepe prison in Istanbul, where Berberoglu is being held, in 24 days.

He is being accompanied by CHP deputies and supporters, as well as family members.

Berberoglu was convicted of revealing state secrets by passing images to Cumhuriyet daily of Turkish National Intelligence Organization trucks en route to Syria in January 2014.

He is the first CHP deputy to be imprisoned in recent years. Around a dozen lawmakers from the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) are currently jailed, most awaiting trial over alleged links to the PKK terror group.

In May 2016, parliament voted to strip lawmakers facing trial of their parliamentary immunity.

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Turkey: Erdogan slams CHP protest march - Anadolu Agency

Germany Criticizes Trump, Erdogan Ahead of G-20 Meeting – Wall Street Journal (subscription)


Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Germany Criticizes Trump, Erdogan Ahead of G-20 Meeting
Wall Street Journal (subscription)
BERLINA major meeting of world leaders in Germany next week emerged as a flashpoint of tension between allies on Thursday as Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to block the Turkish president from giving a speech in Germany and European leaders ...

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Germany Criticizes Trump, Erdogan Ahead of G-20 Meeting - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Turkey wants Twitter’s help in suppressing an American critic – Washington Post

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made no secret of his desire to extend his campaign to suppress criticism and dissent beyond Turkeys borders. But now, his government is leaning on the management of Twitter to do his dirty work for him, by demanding that the company silence an American expert in Washington.

Michael Rubin, an outspoken scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has been a thorn in the side of the Erdogan government and his Justice and Development Party for many years. Rubin has also been the target of a lawsuit filed by the Turkish president in Turkey accusing him of making insults and supporting a terrorist organization.

Now, Erdogan is taking his effort to squelch Rubins criticism to a new level. Twitter notified Rubin on Monday that it had received a court order from Turkey demanding the shutdown of his Twitter feed, on the grounds thatit had violated the personal rights of the Turkish president.

The court order, dated June 16, said that Twitter had seven days to comply, appeal, or face various consequences under Turkish law, including possible fines. On June 26, Twitters legal team alerted Rubin of the court order, saying the company was still evaluating its options. Aspokesperson for Twitter declined to comment further on the case and said the only reason an account would be suspended is if it violates Twitters rules. As of Wednesday, Rubins Twitter feed was still active.

Erdogan has threatened Twitter before. In 2014, he restricted access in Turkey to the social media site, after users began spreading recordings that purported to reveal admissions of corruption by Erdogan and his inner circle. Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time, suggested a complete ban on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

We will wipe out all of these, he said at a rally. The international community can say this, can say that. I dont care at all. Everyone will see how powerful the Republic of Turkey is.

Rubin makes no apologies for his very public criticism of Erdogan, his party, his alleged corruption and his crackdown inside Turkey on freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and all manner of political dissent. Since last years attempted military coup against Erdogan, Rubin has stepped up his activity. This year, he began tweeting in Turkish and writing articles using information sourced to members of the Turkish opposition and even Turkish journalists who have been banned inside Turkey or chased out of the country.

Its a test case for Twitter, because there are a lot of journalists in exile who have taken to Twitter, Rubin told me. If Twitter were to cave to this, it would have a chilling effect on diaspora journalism, not just with regard to Turkey.

Just three months before the coup attempt, Rubin wrote an article entitled, Will there be a coup against Turkey? which speculated that discontent among some parts of the military might spill over into an attempt to oust Erdogan. That was a lucky guess, admittedly, he said.

Since the coup, Rubin has doubled down on his criticism of Erdogans clampdown on civil society and his attempts to press the United States for extradition of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric in exile in Pennsylvania whom Erdogan accuses of orchestrating the coup.

Last month, Rubin tweeted in Turkish: To support Erdogan is not to support Islam or Turkish dignity. Supporting Erdogan means supporting corruption and Turkeys collapse. Just last week, Rubin tweeted out a link to a Dropbox file that contains a document spelling out a counter-narrative to Erdogans claims about the coup attempt, written by secular nationalist military officers who dispute the official account.

Rubin has received death threats from pro-Erdogan Twitter users, but he has no intention of stopping, he said.

Hes an Ottoman snowflake; he cant handle criticism whatsoever, he said. Just because he can make people shut up inside Turkey doesnt mean he can stop all discourse outside Turkey.

Viewed in isolation, the Erdogan governments campaign against Rubin seems petty and overbearing. But his story is not an isolated event. The Turkish government is pushing the limits of attacking external critics all over the world.

In March, the Turkish government pressured Germany to prosecute a comic who made a satirical video insulting Erdogan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel received criticism for allowing the investigation to go forward under a little-used law criminalizing insults to foreign leaders. Ultimately, prosecutors declined to press charges.

In April, a Turkish prosecutor opened an investigation into whether 17 foreign nationals were involved in instigating last years coup, including former CIA director John Brennan, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York.

During Erdogans visit to Washington in May, members of his personal security detail were reportedlycaught on videobeating up peaceful protesters in a public park. The D.C. police department later charged several members of Erdogans security team for the alleged assaults.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

If Twitter does what Erdogan wants, that would set a dangerous precedent and not just in Turkey. What the new generation of autocrats wants is to be able to suppress criticism not only at home but also around the world.

Gaye Gunes contributed reporting to this article.

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Turkey wants Twitter's help in suppressing an American critic - Washington Post