Tweet
IS PAVEMENT CAFE BAN A STEP ON THE ROAD TO ISLAMISM?
Alev Scott
The Times (London)
August 2, 2011 Tuesday
As August begins, which coincides this year with Ramadan and an
unusually hot summer, the streets of Beyoglu in central Istanbul are
empty. The cafes and restaurants have been stripped of their outdoor
tables - and the customers who sat drinking at them.
People mutter darkly that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Enhanced Coverage
LinkingRecep Tayyip Erdogan, -Search using: Biographies Plus News
News, Most Recent 60 Days Turkey's devoutly Islamic Prime Minister,
emboldened by his recent landslide re-election triumph, has begun
a Ramadan crackdown on decadent Western behaviour in the normally
bustling Mediterranean-style answer to Soho.
A week ago police swooped to remove the tables without notice after a
visit from Mr Erdogan. It is alleged that the Turkish Prime Minister
was exasperated that his motorcade, en route to a whirling-dervish
ceremony, was held up by restaurant tables spilling out on to the
streets. Worse still, he is said to have been enraged when one of the
alfresco drinkers raised an ironic (and highly offensive) glass to him.
Despite the local council's loyal protestations that the tables were
removed because the restaurants were in breach of the quota for
the area, the action is widely believed to have taken place on Mr
Erdogan's direct orders.
His increasingly eccentric and autocratic behaviour should surprise no
one. Last January, in Kars, eastern Turkey, he personally ordered the
destruction of a statue built to promote Armenian-Turkish relations,
calling it "a monstrosity". And after his re-election in June he has
pressed ahead with plans to construct a gargantuan and unimaginably
expensive canal to divert shipping away from the Bosphorus. The recent
resignation of the entire leadership of the armed forces has served
only to reinforce Mr Erdogan's position as an ever stronger populist
leader as he appoints their successors.
The restaurant owners and glitterati of Istanbul were so outraged
at his behaviour that thousands marched through Istanbul last week,
some defiantly carrying chairs and bottles of beer to show it. His
behaviour certainly won't calm fears about his ruling AK Party's
Islamist instincts nor will it endear him to the EU, which is already
extremely unenthusiastic about admitting Turkey.
But Mr Erdogan, who has presided over an economic success story,
is secure in the knowledge that most Turks admire his decisive
leadership. With such popular backing, the removal of the outdoor
tables in Beyoglu could prove to be a small milestone on the road to
a very different, more religiously zealous Turkey.
Alev Scott is a freelance writer based in Istanbul
Erdogan's eccentric behaviour will not endear him to the EU
Alev Scott
The Times (London)
August 2, 2011 Tuesday
As August begins, which coincides this year with Ramadan and an
unusually hot summer, the streets of Beyoglu in central Istanbul are
empty. The cafes and restaurants have been stripped of their outdoor
tables - and the customers who sat drinking at them.
People mutter darkly that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Enhanced Coverage
LinkingRecep Tayyip Erdogan, -Search using: Biographies Plus News
News, Most Recent 60 Days Turkey's devoutly Islamic Prime Minister,
emboldened by his recent landslide re-election triumph, has begun
a Ramadan crackdown on decadent Western behaviour in the normally
bustling Mediterranean-style answer to Soho.
A week ago police swooped to remove the tables without notice after a
visit from Mr Erdogan. It is alleged that the Turkish Prime Minister
was exasperated that his motorcade, en route to a whirling-dervish
ceremony, was held up by restaurant tables spilling out on to the
streets. Worse still, he is said to have been enraged when one of the
alfresco drinkers raised an ironic (and highly offensive) glass to him.
Despite the local council's loyal protestations that the tables were
removed because the restaurants were in breach of the quota for
the area, the action is widely believed to have taken place on Mr
Erdogan's direct orders.
His increasingly eccentric and autocratic behaviour should surprise no
one. Last January, in Kars, eastern Turkey, he personally ordered the
destruction of a statue built to promote Armenian-Turkish relations,
calling it "a monstrosity". And after his re-election in June he has
pressed ahead with plans to construct a gargantuan and unimaginably
expensive canal to divert shipping away from the Bosphorus. The recent
resignation of the entire leadership of the armed forces has served
only to reinforce Mr Erdogan's position as an ever stronger populist
leader as he appoints their successors.
The restaurant owners and glitterati of Istanbul were so outraged
at his behaviour that thousands marched through Istanbul last week,
some defiantly carrying chairs and bottles of beer to show it. His
behaviour certainly won't calm fears about his ruling AK Party's
Islamist instincts nor will it endear him to the EU, which is already
extremely unenthusiastic about admitting Turkey.
But Mr Erdogan, who has presided over an economic success story,
is secure in the knowledge that most Turks admire his decisive
leadership. With such popular backing, the removal of the outdoor
tables in Beyoglu could prove to be a small milestone on the road to
a very different, more religiously zealous Turkey.
Alev Scott is a freelance writer based in Istanbul
Erdogan's eccentric behaviour will not endear him to the EU