Protesters are confronted by police during a demonstration at Kizilay square in central Ankara June 16 | Photo: Reuters
by teleSUR
Erodgan said New York Times would face dire consequences if it criticizes the US administration in the same way it does with Turkey.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the New York Times newspaper on Monday for publishing an editorial on May 22 accusing the president of attacking the media in the country.
“As a newspaper, you [the New York Times] should know your place,” he said in a televised speech in Istanbul. “You are meddling in Turkey’s affairs by writing something like this. By publishing this editorial, you are overstepping the limits of freedom,” he added.
In its editorial, the New York Times claimed that Erdogan had a long history of intimidating and co-opting the Turkish media. “Erdogan appears increasingly hostile to truth-telling. The United States and Turkey’s other NATO allies should be urging him to turn away from this destructive path,” the editorial read.
“Who are you? Can you write such a thing [writing a critical editorial] against the U.S. administration? If you do, [the administration] would immediately do what is necessary,” Erdogan said during a panel organized by a think-tank in Istanbul.
Moreover, this is not the first time that Erdogan has clashed with the New York Times. In September, the Turkish president also criticized the U.S. daily for running a story claiming that Turkey is one of the biggest sources of recruits for the Islamic State group.
