ALDE Vice President Alexander Graf Lambsdorff: 'Fair elections are no longer possible in 'Islamist' Turkey.(pr.euractiv).
Following the threats made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Turkish press, ahead of the parliamentary elections on 7th of June in Turkey, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff MEP, vice-president of the European Parliament and Turkey rapporteur for the ALDE Group, said today:
"President Erdoğan's constant threats against journalists and publishers show that either he does not understand democratic principles, or that he consciously disregards them. Ahead of elections on Sunday, the state of democracy in Turkey is deplorable."
"Even if the ballot itself will most likely be free, it won't be fair, considering the intimidation against any critical press. It's not just newspapers such as Zaman and Cumhuriyet, whose editor in chief has been threatened with a life sentence, who have been targeted, but also the publishing group Dogan, to whom Hürriyet belongs."
"In January this year the European Parliament criticised the impairment of the press and freedom of expression in Turkey, but things have deteriorated since then. The President needs to cease his polarizing and confrontational rhetoric, especially since he is supposed to exercise a non-partisan, neutral role." Hmmmm......Obama's BFF Erdogan....by the way: 'A man is known by the company he keeps'
No comments:
Post a Comment