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Erdogan: I Want to be Like Queen Elizabeth

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  • Erdogan: I Want to be Like Queen Elizabeth

    Arutz Sheva, Israel
    Feb 1 2015

    Erdogan: I Want to be Like Queen Elizabeth

    Turkey's president explains he doesn't want to be a sultan, but rather
    more like the British Queen.

    By Ben Ariel


    Turkey's president has big aspirations. He doesn't want to be a
    sultan, but he does want to be like Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

    The comments by Recep Tayyip Erdogan were made on the state-run TRT
    channel on Thursday, and were quoted by AFP.

    Erdogan explained that his desire for an expanded presidential role
    would not undermine democracy, pointing to the UK as an example.

    "In my opinion, even the UK is a semi-presidency. And the dominant
    element is the Queen," he said.

    The UK is a constitutional monarchy, governed by a parliamentary
    system, but its hereditary monarch wields only symbolic power.

    Erdogan's comments came after fresh criticism from the opposition that
    he would act like an "Ottoman sultan" once his presidential role has
    been boosted, noted AFP.

    Erdogan said that leaders of presidential systems in the United
    States, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico are not accused of acting like
    monarchs.

    "I mean, why is it only a monarchy when an idea like this is floated
    in Turkey?" he asked, adding, "We need to speed up to close the gap in
    this race. The biggest advantage... would be in abolishing
    policy-making through multiple channels."

    Erdogan became president in August after more than a decade as prime
    minister, but the opposition accuses him of transforming the state by
    imposing a gradual Islamization and riding roughshod over democracy.

    Throughout his time in power there have been more signs of Turkey
    turning more extremist. In 2013, the Turkish Parliament tightened
    restrictions on the sale and advertising of alcoholic beverages.

    A year earlier, a Turkish court formally charged internationally known
    pianist and composer Fazil Say with insulting Islamic religious
    values, in comments he made on Twitter.

    Previously, Turkey's Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted for his
    comments about the mass killings of Armenians, under a law that made
    it a crime to insult the Turkish identity. The government eased that
    law in an amendment in 2008.

    In December, Erdogan vowed to make lessons in the Arabic-alphabet
    Ottoman language compulsory in high schools, despite objections from
    secularists.

    The August elections were the first time a Turkish president,
    traditionally a ceremonial role, was directly elected by the people.
    In the wake of his victory, Erdogan insisted he now has a popular
    mandate to be an active and powerful leader.


    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/190744#.VM6WYZscRMs




    From: A. Papazian
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