Opposition parties boycott AK Party congress over media ban and ...
Turkey's two largest opposition parties have decided to boycott the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) congress on Sunday, citing different reasons.In Turkey, it is customary to host delegations from other parties during party congresses. The AK Party's media and public relations branch did not issue press badges for some newspapers, all of which are fierce critics of party. The ban covered Cumhuriyet, Aydınlık, Sözcü, Evrensel, Birgün, and Yeniçağ.CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu expressed his outrage towards the government, saying that this is a black stain on Turkish democratic history. “This is a media embargo. I cannot comprehend this. How can a prime minister impose an embargo on the media?” he protested, speaking to reporters at an event in the town of Manavgat.“If the prime minister discriminates among media groups, he is the prime minister of only some groups but not of the whole country,” he lashed out.Adnan Keskin, the secretary-general of the CHP, said that his party protested the practice by not sending any representative to the congress. The CHP had originally put together a delegation led by Keskin and deputy chairman Gülseren Onanç to attend the congress. “We have decided to not participate to AK Party congress, which imposed an embargo on the media,” Keskin said.Another party, the MHP, had its own reasons not to attend to the AK Party congress. The party, campaigning on nationalistic sentiments, has considerable aversion to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq. As KRG leader Massoud Barzani was invited to attend the congress by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the MHP said it decided to decline the invitation to attend.“We have decided to not send a representative delegation of the MHP to the AK Party congress after it was confirmed that [Barzani] would participate as a ‘guest of honor',” the written statement issued on Sunday said.The MHP had originally put together a delegation headed by deputy chairpersons Ruhsar Demirel and Mevlüt Karakaya. The MHP statement did not mention Barzani's name but simply referred to him as “this person.”The MHP believes Barzani is aiming to establish an independent Kurdistan, partially carved out of Turkish land. It sees the KRG as a threat to Turkey's territorial integrity and national unity.

[ED NOTES;ERDOGAN IS NO DIFFERENT THEN HIS OLD MASTER BUSH WHO KEPT CRITICAL JOURNALISTS OUT OF PRESS CONFERENCES WICH EXPOSED HIM... Eren Buğlalılar, "Turkey: The Honduras of the Middle ... - MRZine.org

Erdogan Makes War on the Turkish Media | Al Akhbar English  CALIPH ERDOGAN TERRORIZES DISSIDENT JOURNALISTS AND  Turkish journalist criticizes Erdogan over Ankara stance on Syria  Erdogan Government war crimes | nsnbc  Killing of Journalist Maya Naser in Damascus possibly tied to his ...