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ISLAMABAD:Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will arrive in Pakistan on Wednesday to attend the 5th International EcoSummitin Islamabad.

According to reports, Erdogan will hold bilateral meetings with leaders of member countries to discuss and exchange ideas on ongoing regional and international developments.

Pakistan is hosting the 13th Economic Cooperation Organisation summit for which arrangements have been finalised. The summit will be preceded by a two-day long senior officials meeting starting from Sunday and a Foreign Ministers Meeting on Tuesday.

The theme of ECO Summit is Connectivity for Regional Prosperity, said Advisor to the prime minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, while briefing the media in Islamabad the other day.

Sartaj Aziz said that most of the member states had already confirmed participation at heads of state or heads of government level.

Pakistan last hosted the third ECO Summit in Islamabad in May 1995.

ECO was established in 1985 by Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. Later on, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan,Kazikstan,Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were also included.

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Turkish President Erdogan to visit Pakistan for ECO summit - Pakistan Today

Turkey's prime minister called on voters on Saturday to back a change to the constitution in an April referendum that would greatly strengthen President Tayyip Erdogan's powers, portraying the reform as a vote for stability.

Thousands of ruling AK Party members waved Turkish flags and rallying songs resounded around a packed sports arena in the capital as Prime Minister Binali Yildirim handed out red carnations and kicked off the campaign for a Yes vote in April.

"There is a rising voice from the town squares: for a strong Turkey, for lasting stability our decision is ..." Yildirim called out earlier to thousands who couldn't get into the full stadium, eliciting the shouted response "Yes."

The bid to replace the EU candidate country's parliamentary democracy with a powerful executive presidency is seen by Erdogan supporters as a guarantee of stability, preventing a return to the fragile coalitions of previous decades.

But opponents fear a surge in authoritarianism.

Tens of thousands of people have already been detained and more than 100,000 public-sector workers suspended or dismissed since an attempted coup last July.

Supporters of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party, wave Turkish national flags during a campaign meeting in Ankara on Saturday to promote the 'yes; side in the April referendum on whether to boost the Turkish president's powers. (Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images)

The NATO country of 80 million people will vote on the reform in a plebiscite on April 16, with a simple majority needed to approve legislation passed by parliament in January and rubber-stamped by Erdogan last month.

Erdogan says an overhauled political system is needed to tackle unprecedented security threats, from a series of ISISand Kurdish militant bombings to the putsch during which rogue soldiers killed at least 240 people.

"The new system will bring the end of terror, it will destroy terror," Yildirim said, saying Kurdish militants, ISISand supporters of the U.S.-based cleric accused of orchestrating the failed coup all sought a "No" vote.

Erdogan has said voting against the change means siding with supporters of terrorism, but Yildirim sought to assuage concerns about a divisive campaign, saying the AKP aimed to unite rather than polarize and would reach out to opposition supporters.

The nationalist MHP opposition supports the reform. Erdogan the most popular but also most divisive politician in modern Turkish history has long cast himself as the champion of ordinary, pious Turks exploited by a secular elite.

But some pollsters and people close to the AK Party now think his polarizing rhetoric risks scaring off moderate voters in April.

Referendum on presidential powers underway in Turkey1:39

The AKP, which Erdogan founded, has been in power since 2002, and he became prime minister in 2003. He won the largely ceremonial post of president in 2014 and pushed its powers to the limit.

The reforms could keep him in office until 2029.

The legislation enables the president to issue decrees, declare emergency rule, appoint ministers and top state officials and dissolve parliament.

The two largest opposition parties say the proposals would remove the balances to the already considerable influence Erdogan wields over government.

Uncertainty generated by the political overhaul has worried investors already unnerved by a slowing economy, a volatile lira and a deteriorating security environment.

But Yildirim said the reform would provide an economic boost. "With the new system, the economy will advance on a stronger, more solid and healthier basis. With stability, investment, production and employment will increase," he said.

Link:
Turkish PM launches 'yes' campaign over Erdogan powers - CBC.ca

ANKARA, Turkey: A new film about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to hit cinema screens weeks before an April referendum on whether to boost the presidents powers. Reis (The Chief) stars well-known Turkish actor Reha Beyoglu as the Turkish strongman and shows his life up to 1999, beginning with the presidents childhood in a poor district of Istanbul to his rise to become the citys mayor. Turkish actress Ozlem Balci plays his wife Emine while child actor Batuhan Isik Gurel plays Erdogan as a boy. The movie, the first ever feature film about Erdogan, will be released on March 3 across Turkey before the Turkish public vote on whether to approve an executive presidency on April 16. Beyoglu, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the younger Erdogan, delivers passionate one-liners in the trailer, including a person dies only once, if we die, let us die like a man! For Hudaverdi Yavuz, the films director, he wanted to tell Erdogans life because it was really interesting and the films title came from the name Erdogan has long been known by. In a teaser shared online, a young boy not Erdogan watches his grandfather physically beaten for reciting the Islamic call to prayer in Arabic. It was only allowed in Turkish until 1950 after it was banned in Arabic in 1932. Demonstrating Islams strength against the secular military, the young boy begins to recite the prayer in Arabic after he sees the violence. Another clip shows a young Erdogan, who would have been seven, watching as soldiers come to the house of a man who defied the authorities to oppose the execution of then premier Adnan Menderes. The last scene shows Erdogan looking with defiance as the narrator says a brave hero will grow up honorable against such oppression.

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Erdogan biopic to hit screens ahead of vote - Arab News

Caroline

This article chooses to ignore the biggest block to reunification. The massive nationalist sentiment on the south of the Cyprus divide having recently passed a law making celebration of the Enosis referendum in schools compulsory. This was a huge kick in the teeth for the Turkish Cypriots and showed that the Greek Cypriot people have no respect for Turkish Cypriot right to self determination within a federal system. Erdogan will do what he has to do morally in that situation: protect the Turkish Cypriot people from renewed attempts to decimate their cultural identity.

Posted on 2/24/17 | 10:28 AM CET

When will they learn? You cant make a mslim. Its even right in their book! Look at the statistics. Look at the news. Look at their (hate) prayers. Look at their customs. Look at the law (Shara) they want. The utter and deep contempt they have must have, are obliged to have to non-mslim is humongous. If you dont believe it, just keep score at the amount of news items in the news related to their so-called behavior of peace. Its time to recognize this violent mental illness and begin with a final resolution for this fourteen centuries old lethal problem.

Posted on 2/24/17 | 11:37 AM CET

Mr Erogan, the route of all evil? Maybe, when considering the restructuring of the Republic of Turkeys Political system looks to be moving toward totalitarianism. Sitting in the West, we cannot rely on any bit of news coming out of Turkish based media, knowing that so many journalists have been incarcerated; as have politicians, judges, lawyers, police officers, members of the military, doctors, lecturers, authors, students, pupils, hairdressers, coffee shop owners, foreign breeds of dogs, you get the gist; all without trial, on the charge of colluding to depose Mr Erdogan, or offending him. So, is it in his interest to allow Turkeys influence over Cyprus, to be taken away? I think not, so there may be some truth to the comments stated in this article, but I think Mujtaba Rahman, maybe being a little paranoid (is it something that happens when the name Mr Erdogan is mentioned?) in the level of accusation. I believe Turkey will want to secure their underbelly by turning North Cyprus into a larger fortress. As for why the negotiations will derail, Im more inclined to agree with the comment made by Caroline, in so far as the nationalist sentiment in the south of Cyprus is one of the reasons the negotiations will fail. The British were subject to the actions of the Greek nationalists in the form of EOKA, in the 1950s. The Turkish Cypriots from the late 50s through to 1974, but lets not forget that moderate Greek Cypriots have been victims to their own nationalist too, both in the 1960s and more so in 1974, when Greek Cypriots seeking Enosis, were killing Greek Cypriots wanting their own independent republic to survive. These Cypriot republicans welcomed the arrival of the Turkish forces in 1974, as Enosis, was stopped dead. Coming back to the present dilemma, the Turkish Cypriot people, probably a people of some 350,000 worldwide, of which only 150,000 remain in Cyprus, have since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, become second class citizens, first under British rule, and then from 1960, under Greek Cypriot rule. Since 1974, most of these people have been refugees, having left their villages in what is now the southern Greek Cypriot controlled part of Cyprus, and have since then found themselves subject to the control of Turkey. Some welcome this, some do not especially with the direction Mr Erdogan, is now taking Turkey. One fact however is that on a day to day basis, Turkish Cypriots, are no longer victims of a class system. They are in a haven, safe enough for those born after the 1974 invasion and subsequent division of Cyprus, to have their own varying political beliefs putting them at odds with the older generations; isnt this democracy? If so, on a day to day basis at a national level they have democracy. The Turkish Cypriots have now enjoyed 43 years of a form of self-rule. They do not really know how life will change if a settlement is achieved, but a few still wear the rose-tinted specs that makes the grass look greener in the south. The Greek Cypriots themselves have a dilemma. The margins between those who will support a vote for a settlement (not really a unification), are very small, and there is always the possibility of a swing vote in favour of the nationalists. The reason for this is decades of indoctrination by the Greek Orthodox Church. No one constant has remained truer to anti Turkish sentiment. Political party leaders have come and gone, rhetoric has been pro and anti-settlement, but the Church has been a constant with the same message throughout. For the Church, there is only one settlement they would support; all Turks, off the island and all their Mosques demolished. It does not matter whether a settlement is reached or whether the negotiations fail, a yes vote will never win in the south. The only injustice is that the Turkish Cypriots, have not and will not enjoy complete autonomy, they will be drawn into Turkey. The Greek republic of Cyprus will end up direct neighbours of Turkey, and the story of a united Cyprus will be over.

Posted on 2/24/17 | 12:12 PM CET

The author clearly knows very little of the history of Cyprus. The author assumes that the stumbling block appears to be with Turkey and the rights of intervention and the troops stationed on the island. However what the author fails to explain is that the Turkish Cypriots will not agree to a solution with no ongoing Turkish security. Remember Turkey intervened to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Turkish Cypriots during the Greek Cypriot attempts at Enosis (union) with Greece. Full facts please!!

Posted on 2/24/17 | 12:17 PM CET

Yet another bias opinionated writer. Can he explain why and how Erdogan became the target of the wrath of the militarist and the nationalist for expressing support and advocating a settlement when the Annan plan was put to referandum. If the writer at least said although Erdogan supported a settlement at that time he no longer does, may be you could take his writing seriously otherwise yet another garbled message from a garbled mind of a biased person.

Posted on 2/24/17 | 1:43 PM CET

Some of the comments here are very one sided. Truth is that both sides are too blame and that it is not a black and white issue. Turkish Cypriots are afraid that they might share the fate of the Cretan Turks and Greek Cypriots are worried that they will have the same fate as the Greeks of Asia Minor. Both concerns are valid. The difference is that Turkish Cypriots are doomed to be assimilated by Turkey, culturally and politically, if reunification does not happen.

Posted on 2/24/17 | 4:27 PM CET

The author does not know almost anything on Cyprus. There are LOTS of things he must learn. NORTHERN CYPRUS IS LEGAL:

1. LEGALITY AND RECOGNITION ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS (Neither of them is a necessary or a sufficient condition for the other one)

Recognition is completely a political notion/act (as stated by International Court of Justice, Kosovo 2010 decision) and has nothing to do with legality. 1/193 country recognizes Northern Cyprus; but even if 0/193 countries recognize NC, this has nothing to do with legality of NC.

The President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Hisashi OWADA (2010): International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-10730573

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) (2010): while the declaration may not have been illegal, the issue of RECOGNITION was a POLITICAL one. (in OSHISANYA 2016, An Almanac of Contemporary and Comperative Judicial Restatement, p.64) https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=xMvOBAAAQBAJ

Recognition is a political, not a legal matter.

That is to say, being recognized/not recognized does not affect legality/illegality of a country. Recognition is a political action.

2. NORTHERN CYPRUS BEING A COUNTRY IS NOT DISPUTED The definition of country is bigger than whether being a UN member or not. There are countries that are not member of UN. See, country definition in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country

A country is a region identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated peoples with distinct political characteristics.

Thats why, even the sources from United Nations (UN) cite Northern Cyprus as a different country: World Happiness Report 2015 of United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) ranked Northern Cyprus 66th among 158 countries, directly above the Republic of Cyprus, which was ranked 67th. UN SDSN World Happiness Report 2015, p.27: 2012-2014 country rankings. http://worldhappiness.report/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/04/WHR15.pdf

United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) World Happiness Report 2016. http://5c28efcb768db11c7204-4ffd2ff276d22135df4d1a53ae141422.r82.cf5.rackcdn.com/HR-V1_web.pdf See Figure 2.2: Ranking of Happiness 2013-2015 (Part 2) North Cyprus: 62th among 157 countries (1:best, 157:worst) (South, Greek) Cyprus: 69th among 157 countries.

3. THERE IS NO PROHIBITION ON DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW The President of the Intl Court of Justice (ICJ) Hisashi OWADA, 2010: International law contains NO PROHIBITION on declarations of independence.

4. THE OPERATIONS OF UNITED NATIONS PEACE FORCE IN CYPRUS (UNFICYP) IN NORTH OF CYPRUS ISLAND ARE BASED ON THE LAWS OF NORTHERN CYPRUS Without a status-of-forces agreement (or similar arrangements) between the United Nations and the Government of the TRNC UNFICYP operates solely within the framework of the laws, rules and regulations of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which may be altered by the TRNC authorities unilaterally and without prior notice. (Stefan Talmon, Impediments to Peacekeeping: The Case of Cyprus, p.58-59., http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sann2029/International%20Peacekeeping%208%20(2002),%2033-63.pdf in International Peacekeeping: The Yearbook of International Peace Operations, Vol.8, 2002)

SINCE NORTHERN CYPRUS IS LEGAL, ALL ITS COURTS AND LAWS ARE ACCEPTED IN THE WORLD: SEE 5 & 6 BELOW.

5. ALL LAWS OF NORTHERN CYPRUS ARE ACCEPTED IN EUROPE (EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS; ECtHR) 5.1 IN NORTHERN CYPRUS, LAWS OF TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS ARE VALID: ECtHRs 02.07.2013 Decision: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-122907 (In north of Cyprus island, the laws of Northern Cyprus are valid) notwithstanding the lack of international recognition of the regime in the northern area, a de facto recognition of its acts may be rendered necessary for practical purposes. Thus, THE ADOPTION BY THE AUTHORITIES OF THE TRNC OF CIVIL, ADMINISTRATIVE OR CRIMINAL LAW MEASURES, AND THEIR APPLICATION OR ENFORCEMENT WITHIN THAT TERRITORY, may be regarded as HAVING A LEGAL basis in domestic law for the purposes of the Convention.

Note: In the related ECtHRs decision above, the case application of the Greek Cypriot was IMMEDIATELY REJECTED; i.e., his application was found INADMISSABLE. That is to say, he was expelled by ECtHR just at the beginning; therefore, his case was not handled (no sessions were held) by ECtHR at all.

5.2 IN NORTH OF CYPRUS ISLAND, THE ONLY COUNTRY WHOSE LAWS ARE VALID IS NORTHERN CYPRUS: European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Article 35/1 Admissibility criteria: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Admissibility_guide_ENG.pdf The Court may ONLY deal with the matter after ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES have been exhausted, according to the generally recognised rules of international law.

In order to apply to ECtHR for an issue related in Poland, Polands ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES MUST be exhausted. Similarly: In order to apply to ECtHR for an issue related in north of Cyprus island, Northern Cyprus ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES MUST be exhausted.

If the legal domestic system of Republic of Cyprus had any validity in north Cyprus, then before taking the case to ECtHR, RoCs ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES MUST have been exhausted AS WELL besides those of Northern Cyprus. Since, according to ECtHR, legal system of Republic of Cyprus has NO validity in north Cyprus, ECtHR accepts cases from north Cyprus AS SOON AS Northern Cyprus ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES are exhausted.

5.3 ALL THE PEOPLE OF REP. OF CYPRUS (EVEN THE PRESIDENT OF RoC) MUST APPLY TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF NORTHERN CYPRUS ABOUT AN ISSUE RELATED WITH NORTH OF CYPRUS IN ORDER TO TAKE THEIR CASES TO THE ECtHR: ECtHR 04.01.2011 decision:http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-103100 the procedure before the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), and further appeal to the TRNC High Administrative Court, provided for in Law 67/2005, were to be regarded as domestic remedies of the respondent State and that NO GROUND OF EXEMPTION has been established in that regard. In the last part: Court unanimously Declares the APPLICATION INADMISSIBLE means EXHAUST ALL DOMESTIC REMEDIES OF TRNC (Northern Cyprus) first, before coming to ECtHR.

5.4 THE COURTS OF NORTHERN CYPRUS ARE INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL ECtHRs 02.09.2015 Decision: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-155000 ..the COURT SYSTEM in the TRNC, including both civil and criminal courts, reflected the judicial and common-law tradition of Cyprus in its functioning and procedures, and that the TRNC COURTS were thus to be considered as ESTABLISHED BY LAW with reference to the constitutional and legal basis on which they operatedthe Court has already found that the COURT SYSTEM set up in the TRNC was to be considered to have been established by law with reference to the constitutional and legal basis on which it operated, and it has NOT ACCEPTED THE ALLEGATION that the TRNC COURTS as a whole LACKED INDEPENDENCE and/or IMPARTIALITYwhen an act of the TRNC authorities was in compliance with LAWS IN FORCE WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF NORTHERN CYPRUS, those acts should in principle be regarded as having a legal basis in domestic law for the purposes of the Convention..

Note: Here, what ECtHR means by laws in force within the territory of northern Cyprus is the laws that TRNC published and put into implementation (See: ECtHRs 02.07.2013 decision above).

6. UNITED STATES FEDERAL COURT: TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS IS A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY USA Federal Court (09.10.2014): Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a democratic country Although the United States does not recognize it as a state, the TRNC purportedly operates as a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC with a president, prime minister, legislature and judiciaryTRNC is NOT VULNERABLE to a lawsuit in Washington

The news of the Court decision (13.10.2014) http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/10/13/72392.htm Page of the Court case (The Defendant: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) http://dockets.justia.com/docket/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2009cv01967/139002 Decision of the Court: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2009cv01967/139002/53

7. UNITED KINGDOMS HIGH COURT: THERE IS NOTHING IN UKS LAW TO REFRAIN UK FROM RECOGNIZING NORTHERN CYPRUS

UKs High Court (03.02.2017) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/03/criminals-fleeing-british-justice-can-no-longer-use-cyprus-safe THERE WAS NO DUTY IN UK LAW UPON THE GOVERNMENT TO REFRAIN FROM RECOGNISING NORTHERN CYPRUS. The United Nations itself works with Northern Cyprus law enforcement agencies and facilitates cooperation between the two parts of the island.

High Court judges dismissed a challenge that co-operation between UK police and law agencies in northern Cyprus was illegal. (http://ambamarblearch-media.com/sites/default/files/dpp_files/TT.pdf, page 6).

Posted on 2/25/17 | 4:56 PM CET

The author does not know almost anything on Cyprus. There are LOTS of things he must learn.

TURKEYs INTERVENTION ON CYPRUS IN 1974 IS COMPLETELY LEGAL:

1. No Application of Any Sanctions Till now, there is NO sanction applied on Turkey due to 1974 Cyprus war.

If a country invades another one, UN imposes sanctions on that country. Iraq invaded Kuwait, and UN imposed sanctions on Iraq. Turkey did not invade Cyprus, hence UN did not impose any sanction on Turkey.

2. There is no UN Security Council resolution that calls the Turkeys 1974 action as invasion.

3. The first hand decisions of The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)

PACE(29.07.1974, Resolution 573): The Turkish military INTERVENTION was the exercise of a RIGHT EMANATING FROM AN INTERNATIONAL TREATY and the fulfilment of a LEGAL and MORAL obligation.

4. Greeces court decisions

Athens Court of Appeals (21.03.1979; Case No: 2658/79): The Turkish military INTERVENTION in Cyprus, which was carried out in accordance with the Zurich and London Accords, was LEGAL. Turkey, as one of the Guarantor Powers, had the right to fulfill her obligations. The real culprits are the Greek officers who engineered and staged a coup and prepared the conditions for this INTERVENTION.

Note: Just after 5 years later than 1974, in 1979, Greeces Highest Court decided Turkish military intervention is legal without making any difference between 1st and 2nd military operation.

5. Makarios (Then-President of Cyprus) speech during the period covering both the coup and the intervention

Makarios (the UN Security Council Speech, 19 July 1974): CYPRUS WAS INVADED BY GREECE. Sound record of the speech: http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/history/republic/makarios1.wav

6. Treaty of Guarantee of 1960 Turkey acted on Cyprus via Article IV(2) Treaty of Guarantee (In the event of a breach of the provisions of the present treaty, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom undertake to consult together with respect to the representations or measures necessary to ensure observance of those provisions. IN SO FAR AS COMMON OR CONCERTED ACTION MAY NOT PROVE POSSIBLE, EACH of the three GUARANTEEING POWERs reserves THE RIGHT TO TAKE ACTION with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs created by the present Treaty.), hence in compatible with Art. 2(4) UN Charter.

Posted on 2/25/17 | 5:02 PM CET

I advise the authot to read a little on Cyprus history as well:

The civilization in Cyprus started in BC 9000. The first Helen (Greek) came to Cyprus in BC 325. THERE WAS NOT ANY SINGLE HELEN IN THE ISLAND THROUGHOUT 9000 YEARS. The Helens (Greeks) came to Asian Cyprus from Europe with BARBARISM. HELENS ARE THE LONGEST GUEST OF THE ISLAND! THE ISLAND WERE PEACEFUL AS LONG AS NO HELEN WAS IN THE CYPRUS ISLAND!

Posted on 2/25/17 | 5:05 PM CET

You are very misinformed. Turkey WANT unification so that they can join Europe. Such poor quality article, as a Cypriot, I am dissapointed and disgraced by you, dont feel so bad though, you and the other 400,000 500,000 selfish Sharpe Thorn, Cypriot.

Posted on 2/26/17 | 8:32 AM CET

Read more:
How Erdoan will derail Cyprus' reunification - POLITICO.eu

Turkish director Hudaverdi Yavuz poses during an interview on February 4, 2017, in Istanbul. A new film about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to hit cinema screens weeks before an April referendum on whether to boost the presidents powers. Reis (The Chief) stars well-known Turkish actor Reha Beyoglu as the Turkish strongman and shows his life up to 1999, beginning with the presidents childhood in a poor district of Istanbul to his rise to become the citys mayor.
BULENT KILIC / AFP

A new film about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to hit cinema screens weeks before an April referendum on whether to boost the presidents powers.

Reis (The Chief) stars well-known Turkish actor Reha Beyoglu as the Turkish strongman and shows his life up to 1999, beginning with the presidents childhood in a poor district of Istanbul to his rise to become the citys mayor.

Turkish actress Ozlem Balci plays his wife Emine while child actor Batuhan Isik Gurel plays Erdogan as a boy.

Beyoglu, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the younger Erdogan, delivers passionate one-liners in the trailer, including a person dies only once, if we die, let us die like a man!

The actor told Kanal D broadcaster this week he was proud when Erdogan said he could see his younger self in Beyoglu.

For Hudaverdi Yavuz, the films director, he wanted to tell Erdogans life because it was really interesting and the films title came from the name Erdogan has long been known by.

When he got elected mayor of Istanbul, automatically people used the word Reis (chief) His childhood friends, his acquaintances, they call him that, he told AFP.

Questions have been raised over the films timing so close to the referendum it had been due to come out in March last year but Yavuz said he had no control over the distribution date.

Not propaganda Erdogan, the most powerful Turkish politician since founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, became president in 2014, but the role has usually been more ceremonial.

Under the new constitution, the president would have strengthened executive powers to directly appoint top public officials including ministers.

The director hit back at claims of election propaganda ahead of the referendum: This film is absolutely ours. This is not propaganda, adding there was no outside intervention.

For some, my film can have a political meaning, for others it can be a burden, that is not my problem.

Yavuz, who has previously worked for state broadcaster TRT channel, said the film producers did not seek Erdogans authorisation nor did they have to.

The film ends before the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Erdogan co-founded won power for the first time in 2002 because the director said he wanted to finish on a beautiful note.

Erdogan served four months in jail from March 1999 over the poem that was regarded as incitement to religious hatred. The trailer shows him cheered by supporters as he prepares to enter jail.

The movie was filmed in Istanbul and Cyprus over six weeks, Yavuz said.

Turkish audiences in Europe including Germany, France and Britain will also have the chance to see the film, local media said.

Brave hero In a teaser shared online, a young boy not Erdogan watches his grandfather physically beaten for reciting the Islamic call to prayer in Arabic. It was only allowed in Turkish until 1950 after it was banned in Arabic in 1932.

Demonstrating Islams strength against the secular military, the young boy begins to recite the prayer in Arabic after he sees the violence.

Another clip highlighting the militarys treatment of the pious includes one scene from September 1961 when a man the child who recited the prayer is taken away by soldiers as he is praying.

It begins with a young Erdogan, who would have been seven, watching as soldiers come to the house of a man who defied the authorities to oppose the execution of then premier Adnan Menderes.

Menderes, who lifted the ban on the Arabic-language call to prayer, was executed in the wake of the 1960 military coup.

The last scene shows Erdogan looking with defiance as the narrator says a brave hero will grow up honourable against such oppression.

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See original here:
Erdogan biopic to hit screens ahead of referendum - Guardian