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Turkey and the EU have ‘different opinons on freedom’ and the EU ‘does not respect democracy,’ says PM Erdoğan, as international pressure on Ankara grows regarding the police crackdown on protestersTurkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued his strong-worded criticisms against the European Union yesterday over its support to the Gezi Park demonstrators and accused Brussels of being undemocratic in a reaction against the European Parliament’s recent critical resolution against his government.
“Do you have the right to take such a decision [on Turkey]? You will stay silent about what’s happening in France, in England and elsewhere in Europe and you will dare to take a decision on our security forces who are exercising their duty of law enforcement against those demonstrators. You are anti-democratic,” Erdoğan said at a meeting in Ankara on Monday.
“You [EU] do not respect democracy. Your definition of freedom is different. You support those who attack the freedom of others,” Erdoğan said.
Describing the activities of the Gezi Park activists as an attempt to restrict his and others’ freedom, Erdoğan accused the European Parliament of supporting those who attack the freedoms of others.
“I do not recognize this Parliament of the European Union. You will just be there with your plate,” he stressed. Erdoğan strengthened his tone against the EU and European countries in two mass rallies he held over the weekend, and accused some world powers of being partners of some internal plotters aiming to weaken his government. He said he did not recognize the decision of the European Parliament last week but he concluded his criticisms by saying on Monday that he no longer recognized the entire European Parliament.
Almost all the heavyweights of the EU issued criticisms toward the Turkish government with calls to respect the people’s freedom of assembly and of expression and to end the Turkish police use of excessive power against peaceful activists. The response from Turkish officials was harsh and also included counter-accusations of these countries’ and their international media of provoking demonstrations through misinformation and distortion.
‘We gathered more than one million’
Giving examples of how the international media was playing its role in the defamation campaign against the government, Erdoğan said “The CNN’s [International] subtitle described our rally [on Sunday] as a demonstration against the government. But it deleted this one or two hours later without feeling ashamed. There were more than one million people there. They have all been gathered there to stand against anti-democratic demonstrations.”
Erdoğan also categorized this campaign against his government as directly targeting Turkey’s growing economy and improving democracy.
Bağış in quarrel with Jagland
Growing disagreement between Turkey and its European allies does also cause fresh quarrels between Turkish and European politicians. Pointing at the freedom of assembly in Turkey, EU Minister Egemen Bağış suggested that Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Thorbjørn Jagland should first examine how the same freedom was exercised in Europe.
“If Jagland would examine the member states of the council he is the secretary general of, he would see that actually Turkey’s freedom of assembly is much above those countries,” Bağış told Anatolia news agency on June 17 in an apparent response to a statement by Jagland delivered on June 16.
In his statement, Jagland particularly underlined “the legally binding standards set by the European Convention on Human Rights regarding the freedom of assembly – and its limits.”
“It is true that this right is not absolute, but any restriction has to be prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society. The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights is very clear on this. Authorities have to take appropriate measures with regard to demonstrations in order to ensure their peaceful conduct and the safety of all citizens,” Jagland said.
June/17/2013
www.hurriyetdailynews.com
17/6/13
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