This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/world/europe/for-turkeys-ruler-criticism-from-new-york-is-not-fit-to-print.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
For Turkey’s Ruler, Criticism From New York Is Not Fit to Print For Turkey’s Ruler, Criticism From New York Is Not Fit to Print
(about 14 hours later)
Having already moved from the prime minister’s office to the new presidential palace, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to have assumed a new, unofficial role this week as Turkey’s chief press critic.Having already moved from the prime minister’s office to the new presidential palace, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to have assumed a new, unofficial role this week as Turkey’s chief press critic.
Enraged by perceived slights in the domestic news media and critical foreign editorials, Mr. Erdogan borrowed a page from the playbook of American conservatives this week by railing for three consecutive days against The New York Times, calling its employees “paid charlatans” in a campaign speech on Wednesday.Enraged by perceived slights in the domestic news media and critical foreign editorials, Mr. Erdogan borrowed a page from the playbook of American conservatives this week by railing for three consecutive days against The New York Times, calling its employees “paid charlatans” in a campaign speech on Wednesday.
“All their stories on Turkey during critical times reek of provocation,” Mr. Erdogan reportedly said of The Times, whose editorial board criticized him last week for a crackdown on press freedom in Turkey.“All their stories on Turkey during critical times reek of provocation,” Mr. Erdogan reportedly said of The Times, whose editorial board criticized him last week for a crackdown on press freedom in Turkey.
“Mr. Erdogan has a long history of intimidating and co-opting the Turkish media,” The Times wrote in its editorial last week, “but new alarms were set off this week when criminal complaints were filed against editors of the Hurriyet Daily News and its website over a headline Mr. Erdogan had objected to.”“Mr. Erdogan has a long history of intimidating and co-opting the Turkish media,” The Times wrote in its editorial last week, “but new alarms were set off this week when criminal complaints were filed against editors of the Hurriyet Daily News and its website over a headline Mr. Erdogan had objected to.”
The president was apparently angered by a reference to Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s deposed president, in Hurriyet that explained that he had been sentenced to death despite having been elected with 52 percent of the vote in 2012. Mr. Erdogan, who also took office after winning 52 percent of the vote, read the headline as a veiled threat that he, too, could end up on death row.The president was apparently angered by a reference to Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s deposed president, in Hurriyet that explained that he had been sentenced to death despite having been elected with 52 percent of the vote in 2012. Mr. Erdogan, who also took office after winning 52 percent of the vote, read the headline as a veiled threat that he, too, could end up on death row.
This week, he responded to what he called The Times’s “meddling in Turkey’s affairs” by advising its editors to “know your place.”This week, he responded to what he called The Times’s “meddling in Turkey’s affairs” by advising its editors to “know your place.”
In what was widely interpreted as punishment for the headline, the company that owns Hurriyet was banned from bidding for Turkish government contracts on Wednesday.In what was widely interpreted as punishment for the headline, the company that owns Hurriyet was banned from bidding for Turkish government contracts on Wednesday.
In a video report on the latest remarks, which came ahead of crucial parliamentary elections next month, the Turkish daily Bugun connected Mr. Erdogan’s new salvo to an Op-Ed published on Monday by The Times in which two political scientists numbered him among a group of “ ‘soft’ dictators,” like President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whose “new brand of authoritarian government” is “better adapted to an era of global media, economic interdependence and information technology.” In a video report on the president’s remarks, which came ahead of crucial parliamentary elections next month, the Turkish daily Bugun connected Mr. Erdogan’s new salvo to an Op-Ed published on Monday by The Times in which two political scientists numbered him among a group of “ ‘soft’ dictators,” like President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whose “new brand of authoritarian government” is “better adapted to an era of global media, economic interdependence and information technology.”
Rejecting that criticism, the president reportedly shouted, “Hey, New York Times — you think you can give us lessons on press freedom as the media establishment that didn’t say a word when 16 journalists were massacred by Israeli planes?” Mr. Erdogan was apparently referring to the killing of journalists in Gaza by Israel’s military, which has been reported on and condemned by Times writers. Rejecting that criticism, the president reportedly shouted on Wednesday, “Hey, New York Times — you think you can give us lessons on press freedom as the media establishment that didn’t say a word when 16 journalists were massacred by Israeli planes?” Mr. Erdogan was apparently referring to the killing of journalists in Gaza by Israel’s military, which has been reported on and condemned by Times writers.
A former Times bureau chief in Turkey, Stephen Kinzer, reported on Wednesday that a ceremony in his honor, scheduled to be held in the Turkish city of Gaziantep this week to thank him for helping to save Roman mosaics there 15 years ago, “had been canceled by personal order of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” at the last moment.A former Times bureau chief in Turkey, Stephen Kinzer, reported on Wednesday that a ceremony in his honor, scheduled to be held in the Turkish city of Gaziantep this week to thank him for helping to save Roman mosaics there 15 years ago, “had been canceled by personal order of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” at the last moment.
“According to one of my friends here,” Mr. Kinzer wrote in The Boston Globe on Wednesday, “Erdogan’s office sent her a fax describing me as ‘an enemy of our government and our country.’ ”“According to one of my friends here,” Mr. Kinzer wrote in The Boston Globe on Wednesday, “Erdogan’s office sent her a fax describing me as ‘an enemy of our government and our country.’ ”
He continued: “Attached as evidence was a Jan. 4 column I wrote for The Boston Globe that included a critical paragraph about Erdogan. It said, ‘Once seen as a skilled modernizer, he now sits in a 1,000-room palace denouncing the European Union, decreeing the arrest of journalists and ranting against short skirts and birth control.’ ”He continued: “Attached as evidence was a Jan. 4 column I wrote for The Boston Globe that included a critical paragraph about Erdogan. It said, ‘Once seen as a skilled modernizer, he now sits in a 1,000-room palace denouncing the European Union, decreeing the arrest of journalists and ranting against short skirts and birth control.’ ”