During a meeting in Istanbul, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, criticized the double standards of the West towards terrorism.
“Western countries react when terrorist attacks occur in Paris or Brussels but if in Lahore, Ankara, Istanbul and Diyarbakir the West stays silent,” the Turkish president was reported as saying.
Journalist Tülin Daloğlu spoke to Sputnik in an interview, “Mr. President looks at the world through a prism of his own perception and tries to establish a certain order in the country, which corresponds to his position. Similarly, Western politicians assess what is happening in the world and build a strategy of behavior on the basis of their own interests.”
The journalist further said, “These two opposites cannot possibly understand that the desire to put pressure and impose their point of view is doomed to failure. Turkish leaders, as well as the Western leaders are using the rhetoric of counter-terrorism to their advantage in order to achieve their own goals.”
“Since 2010, Turkey's leadership in the international community has formed a perception of our country as a ‘paradise for terrorists.’”
The journalists were accused of terrorism and were thrown in prison. Even the former executives and employees of the General Staff were accused being involved in terrorist activities. Just as the founder of Modern Life Support Türkan Saylan, who was an outstanding scientist, doctor and professional in his field.”
“He made a great contribution to the development of medicine and education in Turkey. But we had to see this amazing man being prosecuted for being called a terrorist. It turns out that the Turkish authorities have put Türkan Saylan on par with the leader of Daesh al-Baghdadi.”
The journalist further said that Erdogan insists that Western countries recognize those terrorist organizations and individuals which Turkey considers as such. Meanwhile, he emphasized saying that the Western countries have not actively condemned the processes that began in Turkey in the 2000s.
“First of all I mean the numerous accusations of terrorism and complicity in terrorism made against public figures in Turkey. In this situation, they turned a blind eye for the sake of political interests. Now the visible effects of this are finally showing,” Saylan concluded.
