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TURKEY'S ERDOGAN ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL - IN VIENNA
World Crunch
June 20 2014
Sure to be the leading candidate in August's first-ever direct election
of Turkey's president, the current prime minister is touring Europe
to woo Turks living abroad. Not all are convinced.
VIENNA -- Things are quiet in downtown Vienna on this Thursday
afternoon. Catholic Austria is celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi,
and everybody else is out enjoying the fine weather. But the scheduled
visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the police
lined up on the Ringstrasse because they're expecting anti-Erdogan
demonstrations.
Some protesters have already gathered near the Praterstern railroad
station. The Turkish and Austrian leftists, Kurds, Alevites and
Armenians form a colorful group, but there are hardly 10,000 of them,
as announced -- more like 2,000. They wave national flags, flags
bearing the likenesses of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan or
Turkish Communists, and carry placards with portraits of victims of
the Gezi Park protests and the Soma mine disaster.
"The sheer breadth of our alliance shows on how many levels Erdogan's
policies have failed," a spokeswoman for the democratic alliance
against Erdogan says from the stage. "Erdogan get out of Vienna"
is written in English on a banner behind her. Other speakers call
Erdogan a liar, a criminal, a murderer.
A few kilometers outside the city, in front of an ice rink on the
other side of the Danube, the picture is more homogenous. People
here are waving only one kind of flag: a star and half-moon on a red
background, the national flag of Turkey. A couple of men are prone on
the ground, praying. Near them, picnicking, are some old women wearing
head scarves. T-shirts with a portrait of Erdogan emblazend on them
are being sold out of a stretch limousine. Some of the T-shirts read
"Sultan of the World" under the prime minister's image.
Inside, in the hall, more people bear more Turkish flags. They are
waving them in time to a pop song with a refrain that repeats the
name of today's star guest: "Re-cep Tay-yip Er-do-gan." His impending
appearance also has his supporters breaking out in frenetic cheers
every few minutes. "Erdogan is the only leadership figure we have,"
a floor leader calls from the stage. When he mentions the Gezi Park
protests, the cheers turn to boos.
When the "Sultan of the World" finally walks into the hall, followers
throw roses in his path. Literally. He waves to the crowd, greets
the dignitaries in the first row, then sits down next to his wife,
who is veiled in black.
"Turkey is proud of you," the 7,000 people in the hall cry out two,
three, four times. First, the moderator greets the guest of honor.
Then Abdurrahman Karayazili, head of the Vienna branch of the
Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), takes the floor. His
organization invited "private citizen" Erdogan to participate in
the 10th anniversary of its founding. The UETD is considered the
foreign arm of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), although
Karayazili vehemently denies this. He also denies that Erdogan's trip
to Vienna -- and travels to Cologne in late May and an impending trip
to Lyon -- are actually meant to scare up votes among Turks living
abroad for the presidential elections coming up in August.
The "sultan" speaks
Ninety minutes later than scheduled, the Turkish prime minister
appears on stage. He thanks Austria for its hospitality. He condemns
the "campaign" that preceded his appearance in Cologne. He says he
does not interfere with German or Austrian domestic politics. "My
only goal is you!"
He describes how well the "new Turkey" has emerged through the
crisis, and says that nobody should fear Turkey. He mentions the
1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Then
he invokes Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire
whose territorial conquests in Europe were checked by the Siege of
Vienna in 1529. "We are all his grandchildren," Erdogan shouts amid
public cheers.
At the high point of the speech, Erdogan launches into his familiar
credo, "Assimilation no, integration yes!" and then calls on his
audience to vote in August. He closes with the words, "We are all
brothers and sisters." The crowd waves their flags one last time,
then leaves the hall to cheer the motorcade they assume is driving
Erdogan away.
Foreign minister meetup
Less than 100 meters from here, the bright flags of the anti-Erdogan
protesters come into view. Their numbers reportedly reached 6,000
before they left Praterstern and headed for the ice rink. The march
across the Danube bridge is relatively peaceful. So that things stay
that way, the police have barricaded the street between Erdogan's
friends and Erdogan's enemies. The mood turns tense.
By now German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has arrived
in the inner city. His Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz met him
at the airport and intended -- while Erdogan was being cheered at
the ice rink -- to speak with him about Ukraine and Russia, about
Putin's visit to Vienna next week, and perhaps too about the German
government's toll plans.
Steinmeier makes a passing reference to Turkey in the context of Iraq.
"We are interested in knowing if Turkey plays a role in the conflict
and, if so, what role," he says. He will be meeting the next day with
Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu. Turkish officials had said they
were examining the requirements for military intervention against
Islamists in Iraq after they took 80 Turkish citizens hostage.
All governments in the region must help deescalate the situation,
Steinmeier warns. Erdogan once perceived Turkey's role in the Middle
East as the great problem solver, and yet his government tolerated
Islamists in the border area between Syria and Turkey -- and in so
doing contributed to strengthening their position.
The two foreign ministers intend to spend their evening at a Heuriger
(wine tavern) in Grinzing, the wine country within city bounds. "Just
the two of them," as a spokesperson makes clear. "Private citizen"
Erdogan will be meeting with the Austrian foreign minister the next
day and "on neutral ground."
http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/turkey-039-s-erdogan-on-campaign-trail-in-vienna/turkey-democrats-protests-erdogan-kurtz/c3s16293/#.U6Tr5j9OXIU
World Crunch
June 20 2014
Sure to be the leading candidate in August's first-ever direct election
of Turkey's president, the current prime minister is touring Europe
to woo Turks living abroad. Not all are convinced.
VIENNA -- Things are quiet in downtown Vienna on this Thursday
afternoon. Catholic Austria is celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi,
and everybody else is out enjoying the fine weather. But the scheduled
visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the police
lined up on the Ringstrasse because they're expecting anti-Erdogan
demonstrations.
Some protesters have already gathered near the Praterstern railroad
station. The Turkish and Austrian leftists, Kurds, Alevites and
Armenians form a colorful group, but there are hardly 10,000 of them,
as announced -- more like 2,000. They wave national flags, flags
bearing the likenesses of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan or
Turkish Communists, and carry placards with portraits of victims of
the Gezi Park protests and the Soma mine disaster.
"The sheer breadth of our alliance shows on how many levels Erdogan's
policies have failed," a spokeswoman for the democratic alliance
against Erdogan says from the stage. "Erdogan get out of Vienna"
is written in English on a banner behind her. Other speakers call
Erdogan a liar, a criminal, a murderer.
A few kilometers outside the city, in front of an ice rink on the
other side of the Danube, the picture is more homogenous. People
here are waving only one kind of flag: a star and half-moon on a red
background, the national flag of Turkey. A couple of men are prone on
the ground, praying. Near them, picnicking, are some old women wearing
head scarves. T-shirts with a portrait of Erdogan emblazend on them
are being sold out of a stretch limousine. Some of the T-shirts read
"Sultan of the World" under the prime minister's image.
Inside, in the hall, more people bear more Turkish flags. They are
waving them in time to a pop song with a refrain that repeats the
name of today's star guest: "Re-cep Tay-yip Er-do-gan." His impending
appearance also has his supporters breaking out in frenetic cheers
every few minutes. "Erdogan is the only leadership figure we have,"
a floor leader calls from the stage. When he mentions the Gezi Park
protests, the cheers turn to boos.
When the "Sultan of the World" finally walks into the hall, followers
throw roses in his path. Literally. He waves to the crowd, greets
the dignitaries in the first row, then sits down next to his wife,
who is veiled in black.
"Turkey is proud of you," the 7,000 people in the hall cry out two,
three, four times. First, the moderator greets the guest of honor.
Then Abdurrahman Karayazili, head of the Vienna branch of the
Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), takes the floor. His
organization invited "private citizen" Erdogan to participate in
the 10th anniversary of its founding. The UETD is considered the
foreign arm of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), although
Karayazili vehemently denies this. He also denies that Erdogan's trip
to Vienna -- and travels to Cologne in late May and an impending trip
to Lyon -- are actually meant to scare up votes among Turks living
abroad for the presidential elections coming up in August.
The "sultan" speaks
Ninety minutes later than scheduled, the Turkish prime minister
appears on stage. He thanks Austria for its hospitality. He condemns
the "campaign" that preceded his appearance in Cologne. He says he
does not interfere with German or Austrian domestic politics. "My
only goal is you!"
He describes how well the "new Turkey" has emerged through the
crisis, and says that nobody should fear Turkey. He mentions the
1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Then
he invokes Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire
whose territorial conquests in Europe were checked by the Siege of
Vienna in 1529. "We are all his grandchildren," Erdogan shouts amid
public cheers.
At the high point of the speech, Erdogan launches into his familiar
credo, "Assimilation no, integration yes!" and then calls on his
audience to vote in August. He closes with the words, "We are all
brothers and sisters." The crowd waves their flags one last time,
then leaves the hall to cheer the motorcade they assume is driving
Erdogan away.
Foreign minister meetup
Less than 100 meters from here, the bright flags of the anti-Erdogan
protesters come into view. Their numbers reportedly reached 6,000
before they left Praterstern and headed for the ice rink. The march
across the Danube bridge is relatively peaceful. So that things stay
that way, the police have barricaded the street between Erdogan's
friends and Erdogan's enemies. The mood turns tense.
By now German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has arrived
in the inner city. His Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz met him
at the airport and intended -- while Erdogan was being cheered at
the ice rink -- to speak with him about Ukraine and Russia, about
Putin's visit to Vienna next week, and perhaps too about the German
government's toll plans.
Steinmeier makes a passing reference to Turkey in the context of Iraq.
"We are interested in knowing if Turkey plays a role in the conflict
and, if so, what role," he says. He will be meeting the next day with
Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu. Turkish officials had said they
were examining the requirements for military intervention against
Islamists in Iraq after they took 80 Turkish citizens hostage.
All governments in the region must help deescalate the situation,
Steinmeier warns. Erdogan once perceived Turkey's role in the Middle
East as the great problem solver, and yet his government tolerated
Islamists in the border area between Syria and Turkey -- and in so
doing contributed to strengthening their position.
The two foreign ministers intend to spend their evening at a Heuriger
(wine tavern) in Grinzing, the wine country within city bounds. "Just
the two of them," as a spokesperson makes clear. "Private citizen"
Erdogan will be meeting with the Austrian foreign minister the next
day and "on neutral ground."
http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/turkey-039-s-erdogan-on-campaign-trail-in-vienna/turkey-democrats-protests-erdogan-kurtz/c3s16293/#.U6Tr5j9OXIU