Commenting on an article by Bekir Coskun in the "Hürriyet" newspaper, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said on a programme on Kanal D:
"Some have said about Abdullah Gül, 'He cannot be my president.' Those who can say that should first give up their Turkish citizenship. Go and choose whoever you want wherever."
These comments have provoked reactions from the Republican People's Party (CHP), the European Union and Turkish columnists. The Prime Ministerial speaker Akif Beki was forced to make a statement.
CHP reactions
CHP MP for Konya, Atilla Kart, wrote a letter to the Turkish Parliament, asking Erdogan to reply. In the letter he asked whether it was appropriate for the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic to abuse one's government's power and one's authority in order to show a dissident journalist as a target, rather than, for instance, seek legal redress.
In a second letter to Parliament, CHP MP for Canakkale, Ahmet Kücük, asked Erdogan: "Does the majority of our citizens, the 53 percent of voters who do not think like you and do not support your politics have to give up their citizenship and leave the country too?"
Reactions by columnists
Oktay Eksi, Hürriyet: I thought Erdogan was going to value those who did not vote for him as well? I thought he was going to embrace everyone? Someone has to ask the Prime Minister: "Are you kicking Coskun off your father's farm?"
Sedat Ergin, Milliyet: These words suit a neighbourhood hoodlum, but are they supposed to crown the Turkish democracy? Thank God, Erdogan does not have the authority to send dissident journalists into exile.
Ismet Berkan, Radikal: Whom are you kicking out of whose country?
Ergun Babahan, Sabah: If every government invited those who think differently to give up their citizenship and leave the country, there might be no one left to vote!
Selahaddin Cakirgil, Vakit: Mister Erdogan, I can guess that you do not like [President] Sezer. But not liking him has not made you think about leaving the country.
Reactions from the EU
Sources from the EU have found an interesting similarity between Erdogan's comments and those of former president Süleyman Demirel. In 2005, Demirel had said, "Those who want to wear a headscarf at university can go to Arabia." Erdogan had reacted strongly at the time, saying: "No one has the right to show the children of this country a different address." EU representatives pointed out that the freedom of thought and expression was an inalienable principle of the EU.
Prime Ministerial Defense
The Prime Ministerial speaker Beki replied to the criticisms:
"Although our Prime Minister did not mention any names, the Hürriyet newspaper, where Coskun is a journalist, has interpreted these comments as targeting itself. Erdogan was emphasising the reality that the elected president is the head of state and thus, as the representative of the unity of the nation, is everyone's president. Interpretations beyond that, such as the [classical nationalist slogan] 'Love [the country] or leave it' have always been condemned by Erdogan." (GG/AG)
