Erdogan, en route to Darfur, lashes out at Turkish media
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Sudan for the annual Arab Union summit, in speaking with reporters while on his way to the embattled region of Darfur, reserved words of harsh criticism for both the media and the opposition in Turkey. Said Erdogan, "The press writes only negative aspects of what is happening, as well as lies. But our compass has not darkened. The compass of the opposition is confused though."
PM delivers 40 tons of biscuits and diapers to children in Darfur
Erdogan made a visit to the Darfur region of Sudan yesterday, after his role as guest speaker at the Arab Union summit had come to a close. Going to the southern Darfur capital of Nyala, Erdogan visited the refugee camps of Kalma and Otac, bringing with him 40 tons of biscuits and diapers from Turkey to the children in these camps.
Erdogan: Media only sees the negative, no press given to the good news
A portion of Erdogan's criticism of the press in Turkey was aimed at the rising media voice in opposition to investment in Turkey from Arab sources: "Gulf capital is looking to invest in Turkey. There is a lot of money from there. They have chosen to invest in Turkey. Because we share similar civilizations. But our media says 'No, that is impossible.' They go against the Dubai Towers. There are plans for residential towers, it will bring in business people, but the media is against it. But the compasses of the people of Turkey and our compasses, have not been darkened. Just the compass of the leader of the main opposition party, his compass is confused. They (CHP) complain that we are stocking the bureaucracy with our own party, they complain about investment, they complain we are blocking positions to members of other parties. But the fact is, we need to support eachother during this period. For the country, for Turkey, this is necessary. The newspapers are printing lies. The entire 'Ali Dibo' affair is a lie. (Reference to unfair contract bidding allegations in Hatay.) There are never any disclaimers published. We think about going to court, but that takes a long time."
Erdogan also answered questions directed to him about accusations he has made about certain media owners:
"I won't say now who these people are. I don't want to pick fruit from the tree before it's ripe. I want to declare what I know at the right time."
Continuing his criticism of the media, Erdogan went on: "The media has gone as far as to go after my daughters. Would you like it if I wrote about your children? But what the media doesn't look at, for example, is the huge openings we have brought about. We opened a billion dollar energy central, "Afdin Elbistan." But outside of a couple of channels and the government run TRT, no one paid attention. Just negative news is looked at.....In recent times, the articles running against us have increased."
Arriving in Darfur, a baby from the crowd that greeted Erdogan fell asleep on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Emine Erdogan left for Qatar, where she will be attending the wedding of the Emir of Qatar's son today.