“Erdoğan’s polarising tactics might have come straight from the Putin playbook. Instead of talking to the demonstrators – a diverse and previously non-political bunch – he has blamed the protests on a murky foreign conspiracy. Many critical journalists are already in jail and on Tuesday Erdoğan denounced the international media. His ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP) has made menacing noises about banning Twitter, one of the main conduits for anti-Erdoğan mockery, and dubbed a menace by the PM.
…
Since the crisis began, the worst of his leadership, Erdoğan has lashed out at numerous enemies, most of them fictive. Actually, Erdoğan only has himself to blame for the damage done to Turkey’s international image. Hubristic, peevish, and not a little paranoid, only he has the power to reverse this.”

Commentary by Luke Harding
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/11/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-must-compromise
Date: 11 June 2013

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