Turkey Endangered by Erdogan and Davutoglu: EU and US Rebuke Turkey over Zaman Newspaper
Nuray Lydia Oglu, Sawako Uchida and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
President Erdogan and Prime Minister Davutoglu are collectively endangering Turkey based on the political intrigues of the ruling party. Indeed, under Erdogan and Davutoglu modern day Turkey is based on alienating people internally, crushing the media based on draconian policies, creating tensions with regional nations and igniting tensions once more with the Kurds. Not only this, it is clear that Turkey is a conduit for terrorists and sectarians entering Syria. Therefore, the latest action against the Zaman newspaper is further highlighting the dark times that are going on in Turkey under Erdogan and Davutoglu.
Indeed, modern day Turkey under the current leadership is even alienating America based on internal draconian policies and issues related to the Syrian Kurds. In relation to taking over the newspaper Zaman, the US State Department made it abundantly clear that Washington is watching events closely. John Kirby, spokesperson for the US State Department, said “This is the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it.”
Similarly, Johannes Hahn is extremely worried by developments because the attack against the media is relentless under Erdogan and Davutoglu. Therefore, the Commissioner for European Enlargement stated he was “Extremely worried about latest developments on Zaman newspaper which jeopardizes progress made by Turkey in other areas.”
Hahn also said “We will continue to monitor this case closely. Turkey, as a candidate country, needs to respect freedom of the media.”
The European Parliament President, Martin Schulz, also condemned the actions taken against Zaman newspaper. Schulz said “If one disagrees about claims or reports of a newspaper, he should counter them with facts, not by gagging journalism.”
Turning back to Kirby he further stated “As Turkey’s friend and NATO ally – and we do count ourself as a friend of Turkey (but) we urge Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in their own constitution, including freedom of speech and especially freedom of the press.”
The New York Times reports “…the Turkish authorities moved on Friday to seize Zaman, the country’s most widely circulated newspaper, in the latest crackdown by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on freedom of the press.”
If the past is to be viewed then sadly Erdogan will deem the above comments to be a political conspiracy. This reality means that Davutoglu will follow the usual Erdogan party line. Therefore, more darkness will follow under the current leaders of this nation and this should be galling for America and powerful European leaders like Chancellor Merkel of Germany. After all, the political actions of allies are being tainted by the authoritarian nature of modern day Turkey and inaction by America and the EU will merely embolden Erdogan and Davutoglu.
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
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