Ankara's colorful mayor declares US ambassador persona non grata
The US ambassador’s comments on respecting freedom of speech are challenged by Ankara's mayor — a shrewd social media expert — but not by the government.
Melih Gokcek has been the mayor of the Turkish capital, Ankara, since 1994. He is known as a flamboyant and loquacious member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and is quite active on social media. He appears on television frequently and has over 3 million followers on Twitter. He frequently engages pundits and colleagues into virtual duels.
On Jan. 15, Gokcek’s target was US Ambassador John Bass. Bass recently gave an interview to the pro-government daily Sabah where he had criticized terror activities, particularly those of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). This news was shared widely by pro-government networks as a sign of US support for Turkey against separatist movements.
Yet the mood changed quickly when the US Embassy posted a brief message indicating the ambassador’s support for freedom of expression for academics who signed a petition titled “We do not want to be partners to the crime,” which asked the Turkish government to find a way for peace in the southeast. As Al-Monitor’s Cengiz Candar has written, the government sees the petition as supporting terrorism. Consequently, the academics were targeted on multiple fronts, with some being detained or suspended. The social pressure against them was not limited to traditional virtual attacks. It also involved marking office doors of academics who signed the petition, and even publicizing their home addresses, the religious affiliation of their spouses and occupations of their parents.
Bass’ statement read: “Expressions of concerns about violence do not equal support for terrorism.” Bass said that while the United States “may not agree with the opinions expressed by those academics,” he emphasized US support for freedom of expression, regardless of the contents of the petition.
