Turkish ruling party cracks down on alcohol
Turkish ruling party cracks down on alcoholTurkey's Islamist-rooted governing party has begun a crackdown on alcohol in the local districts it controls, in a move which has sparked heavy criticism in the majority Muslim, though strictly secular, EU candidate country. Justice and Development Party (AKP) mayors in Ankara, the capital and symbol of the Turkish secular republic, have banned alcohol from local government cafes and restaurants citing a need to protect family values. They are also refusing to issue new sales licences, while extensions to existing permits are getting bogged down in interminable bureaucratic delays. Istanbul saw the beginnings of a similar ban in local government establishments some 10 years ago, when the current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected as mayor of the country's largest city. In government since 2003, Erdogan now disowns his Islamist past and has embraced Turkey's bid to join the European Union. Pro-secular groups and the liberal press have condemned the mayors' anti-alcohol drive as incompatible with the values of the Turkish secular state and of those of the EU, in particular after the opening last month of official membership negotiations with the bloc. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said it believed the ban would spread quickly throughout Turkey and said it went against individual liberties espoused in the EU project, so dear to the Turkish government. "This is a creeping ban and it will spread throughout the country," the CHP's Sefik Zengin told parliament
posted by Unknown @ 1:56 PM
3 Comments:
The beginning of the end. Think Chavez
I used to be in favor of Turkey's admission to the EU
On what conceivable basis could you have convinced yourself that Turkey belonged in Europe? Even the European part of Turkey was never originally Turkey's and was stolen at the hands of 400 years of vicious rule. The Turks do not belong anywhere near Europe. We have first hand knowledge of how they conducted themselves the first time they roamed the continent. We do not need a second example.
flopbot,
I commend you on your honesty and openmindedness. Better late than never, for sure. Thanks for the explanation.
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