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Arutz Sheva, Israel
Feb 1 2015
Erdogan: I Want to be Like Queen Elizabeth
Turkey's president explains he doesn't want to be a sultan, but rather
more like the British Queen.
By Ben Ariel
Turkey's president has big aspirations. He doesn't want to be a
sultan, but he does want to be like Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
The comments by Recep Tayyip Erdogan were made on the state-run TRT
channel on Thursday, and were quoted by AFP.
Erdogan explained that his desire for an expanded presidential role
would not undermine democracy, pointing to the UK as an example.
"In my opinion, even the UK is a semi-presidency. And the dominant
element is the Queen," he said.
The UK is a constitutional monarchy, governed by a parliamentary
system, but its hereditary monarch wields only symbolic power.
Erdogan's comments came after fresh criticism from the opposition that
he would act like an "Ottoman sultan" once his presidential role has
been boosted, noted AFP.
Erdogan said that leaders of presidential systems in the United
States, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico are not accused of acting like
monarchs.
"I mean, why is it only a monarchy when an idea like this is floated
in Turkey?" he asked, adding, "We need to speed up to close the gap in
this race. The biggest advantage... would be in abolishing
policy-making through multiple channels."
Erdogan became president in August after more than a decade as prime
minister, but the opposition accuses him of transforming the state by
imposing a gradual Islamization and riding roughshod over democracy.
Throughout his time in power there have been more signs of Turkey
turning more extremist. In 2013, the Turkish Parliament tightened
restrictions on the sale and advertising of alcoholic beverages.
A year earlier, a Turkish court formally charged internationally known
pianist and composer Fazil Say with insulting Islamic religious
values, in comments he made on Twitter.
Previously, Turkey's Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted for his
comments about the mass killings of Armenians, under a law that made
it a crime to insult the Turkish identity. The government eased that
law in an amendment in 2008.
In December, Erdogan vowed to make lessons in the Arabic-alphabet
Ottoman language compulsory in high schools, despite objections from
secularists.
The August elections were the first time a Turkish president,
traditionally a ceremonial role, was directly elected by the people.
In the wake of his victory, Erdogan insisted he now has a popular
mandate to be an active and powerful leader.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/190744#.VM6WYZscRMs
From: A. Papazian
Feb 1 2015
Erdogan: I Want to be Like Queen Elizabeth
Turkey's president explains he doesn't want to be a sultan, but rather
more like the British Queen.
By Ben Ariel
Turkey's president has big aspirations. He doesn't want to be a
sultan, but he does want to be like Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
The comments by Recep Tayyip Erdogan were made on the state-run TRT
channel on Thursday, and were quoted by AFP.
Erdogan explained that his desire for an expanded presidential role
would not undermine democracy, pointing to the UK as an example.
"In my opinion, even the UK is a semi-presidency. And the dominant
element is the Queen," he said.
The UK is a constitutional monarchy, governed by a parliamentary
system, but its hereditary monarch wields only symbolic power.
Erdogan's comments came after fresh criticism from the opposition that
he would act like an "Ottoman sultan" once his presidential role has
been boosted, noted AFP.
Erdogan said that leaders of presidential systems in the United
States, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico are not accused of acting like
monarchs.
"I mean, why is it only a monarchy when an idea like this is floated
in Turkey?" he asked, adding, "We need to speed up to close the gap in
this race. The biggest advantage... would be in abolishing
policy-making through multiple channels."
Erdogan became president in August after more than a decade as prime
minister, but the opposition accuses him of transforming the state by
imposing a gradual Islamization and riding roughshod over democracy.
Throughout his time in power there have been more signs of Turkey
turning more extremist. In 2013, the Turkish Parliament tightened
restrictions on the sale and advertising of alcoholic beverages.
A year earlier, a Turkish court formally charged internationally known
pianist and composer Fazil Say with insulting Islamic religious
values, in comments he made on Twitter.
Previously, Turkey's Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted for his
comments about the mass killings of Armenians, under a law that made
it a crime to insult the Turkish identity. The government eased that
law in an amendment in 2008.
In December, Erdogan vowed to make lessons in the Arabic-alphabet
Ottoman language compulsory in high schools, despite objections from
secularists.
The August elections were the first time a Turkish president,
traditionally a ceremonial role, was directly elected by the people.
In the wake of his victory, Erdogan insisted he now has a popular
mandate to be an active and powerful leader.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/190744#.VM6WYZscRMs
From: A. Papazian