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PREMIER SAYS TURKEY WON'T "SUCCUMB" TO JEWISH, ARMENIAN LOBBIES
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
February 9, 2015 Monday 8:29 AM EST
Istanbul
DPA POLITICS Turkey politics Premier says Turkey won't "succumb" to
Jewish, Armenian lobbies Istanbul Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said
Turkey will not "succumb" to pressure from special interest groups,
including the Jewish and Armenian lobbies, the state-run Anadolu news
agency reported.
"We will not succumb to the Jewish lobby, the Armenian lobby or the
Greek lobby," Davutoglu said on Sunday night.
Davutoglu appeared to be responding to a sharply critical opinion
piece published in The New York Times last week by Fethullah Gulen,
a US-based Turkish Muslim cleric who has been locked in a feud with
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his former ally.
Gulen's article lamented what he saw as the rolling back of democratic
reforms in Turkey and said the current government was "leading the
country toward totalitarianism."
The government charges that Gulen is running a "parallel state,"
and Davutoglu said he would not bow to his rival's lobby either.
The authorities have carried out sweeping detentions against supporters
of Gulen, including police officers and journalists. Many have since
been released.
Turkey heads to parliamentary elections in June.
In April, Armenians will mark the centenary of the 1915 massacres in
Turkey which many deem a genocide.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
February 9, 2015 Monday 8:29 AM EST
Istanbul
DPA POLITICS Turkey politics Premier says Turkey won't "succumb" to
Jewish, Armenian lobbies Istanbul Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said
Turkey will not "succumb" to pressure from special interest groups,
including the Jewish and Armenian lobbies, the state-run Anadolu news
agency reported.
"We will not succumb to the Jewish lobby, the Armenian lobby or the
Greek lobby," Davutoglu said on Sunday night.
Davutoglu appeared to be responding to a sharply critical opinion
piece published in The New York Times last week by Fethullah Gulen,
a US-based Turkish Muslim cleric who has been locked in a feud with
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his former ally.
Gulen's article lamented what he saw as the rolling back of democratic
reforms in Turkey and said the current government was "leading the
country toward totalitarianism."
The government charges that Gulen is running a "parallel state,"
and Davutoglu said he would not bow to his rival's lobby either.
The authorities have carried out sweeping detentions against supporters
of Gulen, including police officers and journalists. Many have since
been released.
Turkey heads to parliamentary elections in June.
In April, Armenians will mark the centenary of the 1915 massacres in
Turkey which many deem a genocide.