“They say the prime minister is rough. So what was going to happen? Were we going to kneel down in front of these [people]?” Erdoğan said as police moved into the square. “If you call this roughness, I’m sorry, but this Tayipp Erdoğan won’t change.” It’s that kind of moxie that makes Erdoğan the equivalent of an authoritarian rock star. Among modern strongmen, Turkey’s prime minister appears to have it all. His authoritarian credentials are solid: Turkey has jailed more journalists than any other country, he runs roughshod over civil society, he wields the country’s libel laws like a bludgeon, and hundreds of regime opponents—professors, politicians, generals, activists, and media moguls—have been arrested in recent years.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:39:52 +0000
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