Turkey: Turkish Expatriates and Diaspora abroad lack the courage to speak out for Democracy

It must be difficult today for the Turkish expatriate community around the world, specially those who believe in Democracy, Secularism and the ideals of Kemalism, created by the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and to watch what is happening politically in Turkey.

 Specially, if personal friendships have developed between expat Turks, Turkish dispora and Turkish Diplomats

Regardless of that fact, and whatever way you turn it, these diplomats are the mouthpiece of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which is an integral part of the Erdogan Government. As the saying goes: "He who pays the piper calls the tune". 

Case in point  re: The letter of H.E. Serdar Kılıç, Turkish Ambassador to the US, to the Wall Street Journal on November 16, 2016, which is a "rambling" defense by the Turkish Ambassador in Washington to justify that in effect all is "hunky dory" in Turkey and that democracy and freedom of the Press are, alive and well. Reading the interview, the feeling can't escape you, if he believed what he was saying himself ?

As one Turkish citizen living in Paris, who often entertains and socializes with Turkish diplomats noted: "I have some very good friends among Turkish diplomats here in France, but that does not stop me in questioning them about the state of democracy in Turkey, or in signing petitions against the Erdogan Government ".

"This is not disrespectful, it is in fact the duty of every Turk, who lives abroad and believes in Democracy".

"Turkish diplomats, like any diplomat around the world, have to write numerous reports to their Ministry, including those on issues like "what their nationals are thinking and saying  about their home country and government".

"Consequently you are not doing your country a favor, by keeping your mouth shut on matters that are of importance to you and your country . Democracy in Turkey is on a steep descent and you have got to speak out".

©  EU-Digest

Turkey’s post-coup crisis arrives in Europe, dividing the diaspora

The showdown between Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen following the July 15 coup is not only dividing Europe’s Turkish communities but it's also sowing discord within the diaspora.

In the southern German city of Stuttgart, 15 members of a local football team quit last month after threats vowing to “drink the evil in our blood” targeted the club on social media sites. In the picturesque French town of Sens, a cultural centre was vandalised and burned just a day after the failed July 15 coup in Turkey.

Meanwhile in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, a cultural centre was pelted with stones for two nights in a row, and in Beringen, Belgium, a building used by a Belgian-Turkish NGO was attacked when a mob descended on the premises and reportedly tried to set fire to the building.

From a local German football club to a Dutch cultural centre to a Belgian meeting room, the one thing linking these places is their real or alleged links to the Gulen Movement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the movement’s founder, Fethullah Gulen, for the failed July coup, an allegation the US-based cleric has denied.

But that has not stemmed the purges and crackdowns in Turkey, where more than 70,000 people have been either suspended or fired for alleged links to the movement.

Read more: Turkey’s post-coup crisis arrives in Europe, dividing the diaspora - France 24