Trump calls Erdogan to congratulate him on turning his country into a dictatorship

[alexw]

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/18/eu...trump-erdogan/


US President Donald Trump has become the first Western leader to congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for winning a controversial referendum that grants him far-reaching, largely unchecked powers.

Trump called the Turkish leader on Monday shortly after international monitors delivered a harsh verdict on the referendum on constitutional changes. They found that the opposition campaign had been restricted and the media coverage was imbalanced, and that the electoral authority had unfairly changed the rules after polls had opened.

Trump joins a short list of leaders who have openly congratulated Erdogan, including Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Saudi King Salman. His congratulations stands in stark contrast to the more cautious tone adopted by European leaders and a statement issued by the US State Department, which acknowledged the results but warned against further repression by the Turkish government of the political opposition. "We look to the government of Turkey to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all its citizens -- regardless of their vote on April 16 -- as guaranteed by the Turkish constitution and in accordance with Turkey's international commitments," the State Department said in a statement.

"Democracies gain strength through respect for diverse points of view, especially on difficult issues."

The Turkish government has been widely condemned by Western nations for its repression of opposition figures following a failed military coup last year.

European governments struck a more cautious note. "The tight referendum result shows how deeply divided Turkish society is and that means a big responsibility for the Turkish leadership and for President Erdogan personally," Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in a joint statement, calling for a "respectful dialogue" in Ankara with the opposition and all parts of Turkish society. Despite a state of emergency and a widespread crackdown on dissent, he succeeded in persuading only 51.4% of voters to back his constitutional upheaval.

The French government said it would "follow with great care" the international monitors' final report in coming weeks, particularly in relation to a reported last-minute change of rules by the electoral boards to allow ballots that had not been officially stamped. The change has raise concerns of "ballot-stuffing" -- where extra votes are cast illegally to manipulate results.

Can't say I'm surprised. Trump just loves dictatorships. He'd love to rule the US as one himself.

[Krigaren]

Can't say I'm surprised. Trump just loves dictatorships. He'd love to rule the US as one himself.

It's not at all surprising. Trump has a clearly demonstrated love of dictators, because they're "tough" or something.

Guys like Erdogan get to jail, attack or even outright murder protestors in their countries, but all poor Donald can do is impotently tweet about how 'unfair' people are to him.

[Sky High]

this is, for reals some Saturday morning cartoon villain fuckery right here.