Ankara, June 3 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused media institutions, such as the New York Times (NYT), CNN and BBC, of trying to weaken the country ahead of the June 7 parliamentary elections, Daily News newspaper reported on Wednesday.
In a growing controversy over media rights in Turkey ahead of the June 7 legislative polls, the president said various domestic media betrayed the country’s national interests.
“Think about this; this newspaper (the NYT) did the same thing against (Ottoman) Sultan Abdulhamit in 1896. It fulfills a duty imposed by a certain power. It serves this power in line with the assignment. This is what it’s doing now. It fulfilled its duty during the Gezi incidents (in 2013) as well, as you know, just like the BBC and CNN,” Erdogan said, referring to the tense atmosphere in Turkey during the 10 months before the March 2014 elections.
Erdogan’s reaction against the NYT came after an editorial in the newspaper strongly criticised his recent activities of restricting media freedom in Turkey, warning NATO and the US to urge Erdogan “to turn away from this destructive path”, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Turkish president reacted harshly against the newspaper, accusing the NYT of conspiring against former Turkish leaders, including Adnan Menderes and Turgut Ozal in the past.
“Do you know what their aim is? To weaken Turkey, to divide it, to disintegrate it and then to swallow it. But they failed to do so. We will not allow this,” Erdogan said.
The president also slammed independent Turkish media institution Cumhuriyet over its coverage of an alleged weapons supply to Syrian opposition groups by trucks allegedly belonging to the Turkish intelligence service.
Erdogan reiterated his accusations against Cumhuriyet and its editor-in-chief Can Dundar, saying they betrayed the country’s national interests, lodging a criminal complaint against Can Dundar on Tuesday.