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Plingsby

The Pot calling the Kettle......

The most easy-going muslim country in the world a year ago, Turkey is changing. The executive has sacked all the liberal-minded judiciary, and imprisoned many newspapermen. Opposition politicians at a local and national level have been incarcerated.

After diplomatic spats with both countries, Turkey has called the leadership of both Germany and the Netherlands "fascist" and "Nazi". Is it time to apply the same sanctions to Turkey as we apply to (some) other dictatorships, or is it too valuable an ally to the West?

Posted - March 12, 2017
Tags : fascism Turkey The Netherlands Erdogan

Responses


  • It's not unusual rhetoric for radical Islam. It's a shame to see Turkey going down that road. I know Holland was one of the two countries targeted. Who was the other? 

    During the 1970s when the Shah visited Oz I looked after his communication set-up. I never met the man, of course, but spent several hours with one of his ministers. I was sorry to hear what had happened in Iran when Khomeini seized power and hoped that the man I met had escaped. He was quite remarkable.

      March 12, 2017 4:13 AM MDT
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  • 170
    I had to edit my question after realizing that I had not named either country. I'm getting old...........
      March 12, 2017 4:17 AM MDT
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  • I'm running into all kinds of trouble with my typing. I having eye problems just at the moment and since my fingers don't flex the way they used to I'm letting a lot of errors through and don't even see them. I've been forced to ramp up the page magnification so I can see what I'm typing and even that only works half the time.
      March 12, 2017 4:24 AM MDT
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  • 170
    I remember articles (in the colour supplements, mainly) about the Shah's Iran.

    It was portrayed as a properly-respectful Islamic country but with a liberal attitude to the interpretation of that religion and a tolerance to other religions.

    Bright, colourful and cheerful with all the benefits that oil money could bring.

    The Shah defended the repeated increases in the price of oil saying "If we could have your rain, you can have our oil."

    I know that there was a lot wrong with the way the country was run - dictatorships rarely get very much right - but I'm guessing that most people there would probably swap their current way of life for that of 50 years ago.

    Of course, since the Brits (in that interfering way that we used to have) put the Shah on the throne in the first place, much of what happened there is probably down to us, as are a number of other problems in the whole area.
      March 12, 2017 4:26 AM MDT
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  • True enough. But history can't be redone with hindsight. It would be a rare nation that didn't have blood in its history. Our own treatment of the Aborigines has been shameful and that continues well into the second half of last century. There are still problems, of course, but a lot of those are concerned with throwing money at them and thinking it makes up for past transgressions. While that suits many it's also left a lot of rather bitter people who see white settlement as an invasion.
      March 12, 2017 4:34 AM MDT
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  • 6124
    I think it's just too early for Western countries to make any moves.  Right now it's a wait and see game.  
      March 12, 2017 5:37 AM MDT
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  • I agree with Harry and wait and see what happens for a while. The U.S. has a couple of important bases there so this might get interesting for us. Remember the Cuban missile crisis? The Russians wanted our missiles out of Turkey and we wanted theirs out of Cuba. Turkey has been a long time ally and hopefully that remains so. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 12, 2017 9:40 AM MDT
      March 12, 2017 6:57 AM MDT
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  • 10052
    No. We need to worry about ourselves! Particularly now, since we (the US) have a president who admires leaders who imprison/kill journalists who would speak out against them!

      March 12, 2017 8:06 AM MDT
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  • 739
    What is happening in Turkey is a great shame, and deeply worrying, Plingsby. The values of Ataturk seem to be being eroded by President Erdogan. It is Erdogan's Turkey that is behaving like Nazis. I think it is a bit early to take any form of action; also, any action we did take would have to be carefully considered, as Erdogan will use it as part of his narrative that the west has it in for Turkey. I hope the Turkish people deal with Erdogan before he takes them too far over the brink. Really, he is their problem, and they are the ones who should sort him out.
      March 13, 2017 9:45 AM MDT
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  • 170
    It is a great shame. As you say, the tolerant, friendly, forward-looking country that Ataturk constructed is rapidly joining the pool of dictatorships in the area.

    I used to spend holidays seeking out Roman towns and other ancient sites in Turkey, wandering around the country in cheap hire cars. I'm not sure when next I shall be returning.


      March 13, 2017 1:38 PM MDT
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