Contrary to what’s been said in the pro-government media in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s three-day official visit to the UK has turned out to be rather counterproductive.
His hosts, the British government, came under intense criticism for ignoring the convention that they do not invite political leaders who are in the midst of an election.
Prime Minister Theresa May was accused of failing to uphold her country’s own values in the interest of trade deals.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: “May’s administration appears to have substituted diplomacy for sycophancy in its pursuit of Brexit”.
However, not everyone had a bleak view of the visit. The Times newspaper, in its lead article on May 15, claimed it was the right time to do business with Mr. Erdoğan ‘despite the many reservations about his domestic crackdown’. “The relationship may determine the future of Nato”, it added.
The Daily Telegraph agreed. “It is in Britain’s national interest to welcome Turkey’s president Erdoğan” its lead article commented.
Press freedom campaigners, trade unions and protestors held noisy demonstrations outside the Prime Minister’s office and The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, where President gave a speech.
Reporters Without Borders published an open letter to British prime minister, asking her to call publicly for the release of over 100 jailed journalists in Turkey.
During their joint press conference, Prime Minister Theresa May talked about the need for Turkey to uphold democratic values and human rights. Ignoring the comment, Mr. Erdoğan berated journalists present for asking about their Turkish colleagues in jail. “You have to make a distinction between terrorists and journalists. We are talking about those who have been caught red-handed bearing weapons, those who have been killing people,” he said, adding: “Your sources are not healthy. The terrorists will not make good journalists.”
Rebecca Vincent, UK Bureau Director for Reporters Without Borders, told me “the protests in London made it clear clear that President Erdoğan cannot simply carry on with business as usual and expect there to be no public pressure when he travels to democratic countries”.
“Although we welcome the Prime Minister’s statement that she has urged President Erdoğan to uphold democratic values and international human rights obligations, we are disappointed that she failed to call for the release of the dozens of journalists jailed in Turkey, instead allowing Mr.Erdoğan in the same press conference to label them as ‘terrorists’. We will continue urging the UK government to strengthen its position when it comes to human rights and fundamental freedoms in its bilateral relations with Turkey”, she added.
If the British media was taken aback by President Erdoğan’s replies, senior representatives of investment funds, banks and companies went away from their private meetings with the President and his very large delegation even with greater astonishment.
The first shock came with the televised interview with Bloomberg TV’s Guy Johnson, in which President Erdoğan declared his intention to assume a greater role in determining Turkey’s monetary policy after the June 24 elections.
He repeated the message during his meetings with investors, prompting The Financial Times to comment that his uncompromising words were causing loss of investment appetite for Turkey.
Business circles that valued stability and continuity had always overlooked President Erdoğan’s unorthodox views on interest rates and inflation in the past. Now, several were quoted as saying it is precisely this continuity that worried them.
Already concerned about Turkey’s “overheating” economy and institutional weaknesses, they found Mr. Erdoğan’s economic vision “scary”.
The Turkish lira’s continuing slide to record lows confirmed how ill-judged and counterproductive this whole trip turned out to be.
If summoning the Governor of the Central Bank to Justice and Development Party headquarters upon their return was their way of damage limitation, people in charge of Turkey’s economy clearly have not heard concerns expressed in London over government intervention in monetary policy and the independence of the central bank.
This post is also available in: Turkish
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