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Erdogan: Insulted and Insulting: Turkey's Prickly President
CounterPunch
March 6 2015
by MICHAEL DICKINSON
He's a prickly customer, that Tayyip Erdogan! You'd better watch
you don't say anything critical about him or you might find yourself
slapped with a charge of 'insulting his dignity',and face, along with
a growing queue of others, the possibility of a hefty jail sentence.
I was lucky enough to escape the latter when I was charged with
insulting the man by displaying a collage caricature of him as
America's pet dog at an anti-war exhibition in Istanbul in 2006.
Erdogan was a mere Prime Minister at the time, but nevertheless,
my punishment seemed a little excessive.
After being held in brutal police custody for two weeks, two years
of undecided trials resulted in an aquittal. The aquittal was quashed
by the Turkish government, and at the final trial, with a new judge,
I was found guilty of 'insulting' Erdogan and given a suspended prison
sentence of 14 months. In the meantime I had lost my university job
and been put on a teaching blacklist, even though I'd been working
in the country for 25 years. Eventally, almost destitute, I began to
earn my living by telling fortunes with rune stones in the streets
of Istanbul, until I was arrested again in 2013 and deported. But
that's another story...
No slouch at taking offense as PM, Erdogan has recently upped his
umbrage and become increasingly authoritarian and intolerant of
criticism. Since becoming President of Turkey in 2015 the number of
people taken into custody over charges of 'insulting'him have risen
to over 60. The number of individuals successfully prosecuted for
insulting him over the past 10 years has reached 110.
But first the good news - Charges have been dropped against veteran
journalist Can Dundar who was facing an insult investigation for
having said in an interview that, while he was Prime Minister, Mr
Erdogan knew and approved of a chain of corrupt dealings between
several ministers and Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab. Erdogan's
lawyer, who demanded a prison term of up to 9 years for the 'slander',
said that Dundar had "attempted to portray Erdogan as the leader of a
criminal organization." According to the Public prosecutor in charge
of the investigation, "the elements of the crime of insult are not
present." Phew!
Meanwhile, Dr. Ahmet Koyuncu, an expert on social anxiety disorders,
faces trial this month for a thesis he posted online in 2014, in which
he said that Erdogan boasts about his devotion to religion but at the
same time does not refrain from discriminating against and swearing at
those who don't support him. Therefore, he argued, his religiousness
and vindictiveness reflect the 'average Anatolian religiousness and
vindictiveness'. This was considered an insult. Koyuncu explained that
he had written it in the wake of Turkey's biggest mining tragedy in
which 301 workers died in Soma in May 2014, and a visit by Erdogan
to the grief-stricken town that had formed the basis for his thesis.
Footage emerged during the visit showing an Erdogan aide kicking a
mourner and Erdogan punching a protester himself amid demonstrations
against the government.
Former Miss Turkey, beauty queen Merve Buyuksarac, faces charges of
insulting Erdogan after sharing 'The Master's Poem' on her Instagram, a
poem about the President with verses adapted from the Turkish national
anthem. Erdogan is often dubbed "Buyuk Usta" (the Big Master). Merve
said she shared the poem, from the satirical magazine 'Uykusuz',
because she found it funny.
"If you google the poem I shared you will see 960,000 more people
shared it... it's interesting, isn't it?" (It's also interesting to
see that the poem has since disappeared...)
Teenage schoolboy Mehmet Emin Altunses will go on trial in March on
charges of insulting the president in a speech in the conservative
Anatolian city of Konya during a student protest in which he
reportedly said Erdogan was the "thieving owner of the illegal
palace". (A reference to a government corruption scandal as well as
a controversial 1,150-room presidential palace Erdogan inaugurated
in October last year.)
A few months ago, one of Turkey's main TV stations, Haberturk TV,
began running some unflattering headlines about Erdogan and his
government, calling him a fool and a vindictive idiot, questioning
his competence and even his sanity. Erdogan snapped. From his private
office, he picked up the phone and called the head of the media outlet
and asked him to take the offending headlines down. They obeyed.
"Yes, I made the call," he admitted later , "Because there were
insults against us. We have to teach the media things."
This week, in an extraordinary touch of irony, President Erdogan was
found guilty of the charge of 'insult' himself! In 2011, speaking
about the "Monument to Humanity", a statue of two 30-meter-high
concrete figures reaching out to each other on a hill in the eastern
province of Kars near the Armenian border, Erdogan said: "They put a
monstrosity next to the tomb of [Muslim scholar] Hasan Harakani. It is
impossible to think that such a thing should exist next to fundamental
works of art."
The Monument to Humanity.
A few months later the municipality took the statue down. Sculptor
Mehmet Aksoy who had created it in 2008, strongly criticized Erdogan's
comment, saying that his work carried anti-war themes and was also
meant to symbolize the friendship between Turkey and Armenia. He
filed a lawsuit against Erdogan for insulting him through his work,
seeking TL 100,000 in compensation for psychological damage sustained.
Amazingly, Aksoy has won the case, but he was only awarded TL 10,
000 damages (a pittance) and Erdogan's lawyer said they will appeal
against the court decision.
Most of the latest arrests on the charge of 'insulting Erdogan' are
related to nationwide demonstrations last week when secular Turks
boycotted schools and took to the streets to demand a religion-free
secular education. Many of those arrested were students, charged with
chanting: "THIEF MURDERER ERDOÄ~^AN."
One, YavaÅ~_ Kılıc, a 25 year old boycott organizer in the western
province of Izmir ,said: "I was told that I had been arrested for
insulting the President, but I haven't insulted anyone. I was just
telling the truth."
Telling the truth can be a dangerous pastime these days, especially
in Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey.
Michael Dickinson can be contacted at [email protected]
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/03/06/turkeys-prickly-president/
From: A. Papazian
CounterPunch
March 6 2015
by MICHAEL DICKINSON
He's a prickly customer, that Tayyip Erdogan! You'd better watch
you don't say anything critical about him or you might find yourself
slapped with a charge of 'insulting his dignity',and face, along with
a growing queue of others, the possibility of a hefty jail sentence.
I was lucky enough to escape the latter when I was charged with
insulting the man by displaying a collage caricature of him as
America's pet dog at an anti-war exhibition in Istanbul in 2006.
Erdogan was a mere Prime Minister at the time, but nevertheless,
my punishment seemed a little excessive.
After being held in brutal police custody for two weeks, two years
of undecided trials resulted in an aquittal. The aquittal was quashed
by the Turkish government, and at the final trial, with a new judge,
I was found guilty of 'insulting' Erdogan and given a suspended prison
sentence of 14 months. In the meantime I had lost my university job
and been put on a teaching blacklist, even though I'd been working
in the country for 25 years. Eventally, almost destitute, I began to
earn my living by telling fortunes with rune stones in the streets
of Istanbul, until I was arrested again in 2013 and deported. But
that's another story...
No slouch at taking offense as PM, Erdogan has recently upped his
umbrage and become increasingly authoritarian and intolerant of
criticism. Since becoming President of Turkey in 2015 the number of
people taken into custody over charges of 'insulting'him have risen
to over 60. The number of individuals successfully prosecuted for
insulting him over the past 10 years has reached 110.
But first the good news - Charges have been dropped against veteran
journalist Can Dundar who was facing an insult investigation for
having said in an interview that, while he was Prime Minister, Mr
Erdogan knew and approved of a chain of corrupt dealings between
several ministers and Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab. Erdogan's
lawyer, who demanded a prison term of up to 9 years for the 'slander',
said that Dundar had "attempted to portray Erdogan as the leader of a
criminal organization." According to the Public prosecutor in charge
of the investigation, "the elements of the crime of insult are not
present." Phew!
Meanwhile, Dr. Ahmet Koyuncu, an expert on social anxiety disorders,
faces trial this month for a thesis he posted online in 2014, in which
he said that Erdogan boasts about his devotion to religion but at the
same time does not refrain from discriminating against and swearing at
those who don't support him. Therefore, he argued, his religiousness
and vindictiveness reflect the 'average Anatolian religiousness and
vindictiveness'. This was considered an insult. Koyuncu explained that
he had written it in the wake of Turkey's biggest mining tragedy in
which 301 workers died in Soma in May 2014, and a visit by Erdogan
to the grief-stricken town that had formed the basis for his thesis.
Footage emerged during the visit showing an Erdogan aide kicking a
mourner and Erdogan punching a protester himself amid demonstrations
against the government.
Former Miss Turkey, beauty queen Merve Buyuksarac, faces charges of
insulting Erdogan after sharing 'The Master's Poem' on her Instagram, a
poem about the President with verses adapted from the Turkish national
anthem. Erdogan is often dubbed "Buyuk Usta" (the Big Master). Merve
said she shared the poem, from the satirical magazine 'Uykusuz',
because she found it funny.
"If you google the poem I shared you will see 960,000 more people
shared it... it's interesting, isn't it?" (It's also interesting to
see that the poem has since disappeared...)
Teenage schoolboy Mehmet Emin Altunses will go on trial in March on
charges of insulting the president in a speech in the conservative
Anatolian city of Konya during a student protest in which he
reportedly said Erdogan was the "thieving owner of the illegal
palace". (A reference to a government corruption scandal as well as
a controversial 1,150-room presidential palace Erdogan inaugurated
in October last year.)
A few months ago, one of Turkey's main TV stations, Haberturk TV,
began running some unflattering headlines about Erdogan and his
government, calling him a fool and a vindictive idiot, questioning
his competence and even his sanity. Erdogan snapped. From his private
office, he picked up the phone and called the head of the media outlet
and asked him to take the offending headlines down. They obeyed.
"Yes, I made the call," he admitted later , "Because there were
insults against us. We have to teach the media things."
This week, in an extraordinary touch of irony, President Erdogan was
found guilty of the charge of 'insult' himself! In 2011, speaking
about the "Monument to Humanity", a statue of two 30-meter-high
concrete figures reaching out to each other on a hill in the eastern
province of Kars near the Armenian border, Erdogan said: "They put a
monstrosity next to the tomb of [Muslim scholar] Hasan Harakani. It is
impossible to think that such a thing should exist next to fundamental
works of art."
The Monument to Humanity.
A few months later the municipality took the statue down. Sculptor
Mehmet Aksoy who had created it in 2008, strongly criticized Erdogan's
comment, saying that his work carried anti-war themes and was also
meant to symbolize the friendship between Turkey and Armenia. He
filed a lawsuit against Erdogan for insulting him through his work,
seeking TL 100,000 in compensation for psychological damage sustained.
Amazingly, Aksoy has won the case, but he was only awarded TL 10,
000 damages (a pittance) and Erdogan's lawyer said they will appeal
against the court decision.
Most of the latest arrests on the charge of 'insulting Erdogan' are
related to nationwide demonstrations last week when secular Turks
boycotted schools and took to the streets to demand a religion-free
secular education. Many of those arrested were students, charged with
chanting: "THIEF MURDERER ERDOÄ~^AN."
One, YavaÅ~_ Kılıc, a 25 year old boycott organizer in the western
province of Izmir ,said: "I was told that I had been arrested for
insulting the President, but I haven't insulted anyone. I was just
telling the truth."
Telling the truth can be a dangerous pastime these days, especially
in Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey.
Michael Dickinson can be contacted at [email protected]
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/03/06/turkeys-prickly-president/
From: A. Papazian