Erdogan beclowns himself in interview on Turkish press freedom
Tom Rogan
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reminded us of his autocratic arrogance on Monday.
It came courtesy of Erdogan’s interview with PBS’s Amna Nawaz. The sitdown offered more proof of Erdogan’s policy hostility toward Turkey’s nominal allies, and of Erdogan’s disgust for free speech.
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On the policy side, Erdogan beclowned himself with deference to Vladimir Putin’s false assertion that he wants a rapid end to the war in Ukraine. On Sweden’s accession to NATO, Nawaz forced Erdogan to admit that he is reneging on a recent promise to bring a ratification vote in the Turkish parliament. Instead, Erdogan argued that Sweden must more aggressively crack down on “terrorists” before it will receive a vote.
While Turkey has legitimate concerns over terrorist financing in Sweden, Stockholm has addressed this with new legislation and prosecutions. What Erdogan really laments is Sweden’s human rights protections for Kurdish activism. He wants Sweden to hand over those activists and thus betray its democratic responsibilities. Still, the underlying reality is that Hungary, Turkey’s partner for NATO unreliability, is the only other NATO member yet to approve Sweden’s membership. All the other 29 members have already done so for a simple reason. Namely, that Sweden would make NATO manifestly stronger.
Yet it was the free speech side of the docket where Erdogan descended into mouth-frothing fury. Nawaz asked about the plight of Osman Kavala, an activist who faces life in prison even though he has been repeatedly acquitted. Nawaz also inquired about Sedef Kabas, a well-respected journalist who spent two months in prison in 2022 after teasing that Erdogan was a barnyard animal.
Erdogan’s rage was unveiled. “Why are you so interested in this?!” he screeched. Erdogan falsely claimed that Turkish prosecutors had made their decisions without his input, adding that Kavala was an insurrectionist financier. When Nawaz asked whether it was just that Kabas had been sent to prison for teasing him, Erdogan tried to move the discussion away from Kabas. He again falsely claimed that the prosecutions were politically independent. When Nawaz rightly interrupted to dispute that contention, Erdogan erupted with this telling diatribe:
“Don’t interrupt! You have no right to interrupt. You’re not going to interrupt me. Respect me and respect the judgment of the judiciary as well.”
What a window into Erdogan’s polluted mind. The president genuinely cannot understand why a journalist would dare challenge him on a matter of obvious public import. Of course, in his rage, Erdogan utterly deconstructs his argument that Turkish prosecutions are independent and not personal. Proof of that personal agenda is further underlined by the thuggery of Erdogan’s CAT security detail.
Nawaz sensed the opening. Referencing the finding by the Committee to Protect Journalists that Turkey is the “fourth most prolific jailer of journalists in the world,” she challenged Erdogan, “Why are there so many journalists in jail in your nation?” The president asked whether Nawaz actually had any information on the number of imprisoned journalists. Unfortunately for him, she did. And as Nawaz responded, Erdogan broke his cardinal role and attempted to interrupt her. He failed. Offering the statistics to support her question, Erdogan was left in a bind. All he could muster was the absurd claim that any journalist in prison is a terrorist.
The interview concluded with Erdogan suggesting U.S.-Turkey relations would be strong if the American public received “healthy news and coverage.” It was a laughably perfect ending to the interview. After all, Nawaz had just crystallized why Erdogan’s definition of “healthy news and coverage” might not be so healthy.