Erdogan’s Doublethink
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s approach to police and military actions is an Orwellian case of "doublethink."
In George Orwell's novel 1984, he described “doublethink” as “the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” Neither belief need be wrong, but they certainly can’t both be right at the same time. Here is what I mean:
During the early hours of May 31, Turkish police carried out a controversial raid to disperse Gezi Park protesters who, at the time, were sleeping in their tents. A few tents caught fire, and the day continued with police intensely clamping down on protesters, using water cannons and tear gas. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames an “international interest rate lobby,” “foreign agents” and “terrorist groups” for attacks on the police, due to their jealousy of his Justice and Development Party's (AKP) success. Yet many consider the excessive police force to be the reason behind the record number of people pouring into the streets of Istanbul, and other cities across the country, in support of these protesters and their individual rights.
Without wavering, Erdogan took full responsibility for all police action during the Gezi Park protests, which, according to Turkish Medical Association, left five dead, 11 blinded and more than 8,000 injured. On top of that, Erdogan ordered that police officers on duty during the protests were to be rewarded with bonus payments for the next 24 months — the ultimate bonus granted to security officers for exceptionally successful operations. The bonus was later reduced to four months, as the off-duty police officers expressed displeasure.
On Dec. 28, 2011, the Turkish military allegedly received a tip that a group of people entering Turkey from Iraq, via the border town of Uludere located within Sirnak province, included key members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkish jets targeted the group and left 34 people dead. It was later discovered that the group did not include PKK members, but instead, smugglers forced into the business for economic reasons. Erdogan met in Sirnak on July 26 with some of the families whose loved ones were killed in the air strike. This was the first face-to-face conversation between the prime minister and the family members.
