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Saturday 19 September 2020
The tone of the gas dispute between Greece and Turkey is hardening: a newspaper clearly insults the Turkish president on the front page. The Greek government does not approve of the choice of words, but does not accept Turkish interference.
A Greek newspaper has further fueled the bitter dispute over gas between Athens and Ankara. The newspaper “Demokratie” published a photo of the Turkish head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the headline “Fuck you, Mr. Erdogan.” For the message to get through, it was also included in an English translation. The Turkish presidential office complained in a letter to the Greek government, as announced by government spokesman Stelios Petsas.
“I condemn the publication of insults against our president … on the front page of a far-right newspaper in the strongest possible way,” wrote the communications chief of the Turkish presidential office, Fahrettin Altun. The government must hold those responsible for this “blatant” publication accountable.
Insulting a foreign head of state “is nothing more than a sign of impotence and lack of common sense and does not fall within the spectrum of freedom of the press or freedom of expression,” Altun said. The Greek Foreign Ministry on Friday distanced itself from the abuse, which was also spread through the newspaper’s website, and rejected Turkish criticism of the government’s speech in Athens.
Offensive language contradicts “political culture”
Freedom of expression is fully protected in Greece, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens. However, the use of offensive language contradicts “the political culture of our country and can only be condemned.” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry responded to Erdogan’s insult on Friday by summoning the Greek ambassador to Ankara.
Since the discovery of rich gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, there has been a heated debate about their exploitation. EU members Greece and Cyprus, as well as Turkey, are claiming the affected maritime areas and are also supporting them by sending warships.
