Comments by a French researcher that allegedly amounted to incitement of the assassination of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have sparked harsh criticism in Ankara.
In his controversial comments made to French BFM channel on Saturday, Philippe Moreau Defarges of the IFRI (French Institute of International Relations), said that following the April 16 referendum in Turkey, two options were left to the country: Either a civil war or assassination of Erdogan.
“The legal ways have been blocked,” Defarges, a former diplomat, noted.
The comments caused uproar in Turkey, with Erdogan’s lawyer reportedly having filed a criminal complaint against Defarges.
It follows the recent referendum in Turkey, in which Erdogan-backed constitutional changes were approved with just 51 percent of votes. It was followed by allegations of irregularities and the need to launch a transparent investigation into claims of illegal votes.
Defarges, who later apologized for his comments on Twitter, said that Erdogan’s increased authority in Turkey, with the move from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, would result in a “catastrophe” for the country.
IFRI quickly released a statement emphasizing that Defarges’ comments, made on a personal basis, do not represent the view of the institution itself.
Reactions mounted following the provocative remarks.
The ex-spokesperson of the Federation of Muslims of the South of France, Feiza Ben Mohamed, criticized Defarges on Twitter, saying that his words were “an incitement to a terrorist attack, no more and no less.”
Defarges’ apology was not received well by Turkey, with Erdogan’s spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin saying it was not enough. “We cannot underestimate such an issue. This is a test for Europe to show how it will react. We will do our best do delegitimize such fascist approaches,” he added.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Erdogan’s lawyer Huseyin Aydin said the comments cannot be considered in the context of freedom of expression, but rather they intend to incite crime.
Aydin implied that if Defarges is in good mental health, then any alleged connections with the outlawed terrorist organization in Turkey, PKK, or any ties with the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed for being the mastermind of the failed coup attempt in Turkey, should be examined.
Dr. Ali Bakeer, an analyst and researcher on Turkey, said that given Defarges is a former diplomat, this suggests that he chose his words carefully. This further suggests that Defarges was inciting the assassination of Erdogan rather than trying to objectively discuss the topic he is talking about, Bakeer said.
“No matter what his real aim was, this is (an) absolutely unacceptable statement by all measures. It is very important to delegitimize such rhetoric, which carries latent hatred and increasingly becoming acceptable in such European circles,” Bakeer told Arab News.

Source: Arab News