Difference over Syrian refugee policy behind unseemly feud between Turkish politicians
The founder of a small right-wing party challenges the interior minister in row over repatriations — but is it an attempt to gain support as Turks grow weary of refugees?
ISTANBUL — Challenging someone to a fight over an insult is a distant memory from the school playground for most people. But in recent days two senior Turkish politicians have been engaging in the kind of taunting many would consider unbecoming of middle-aged men — and the Turkish government's refugee policy was at the center of their dispute.
The row between Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Umit Ozdag, president of the nationalist Zafer party, was sparked May 5 when the minister called Ozdag “less than an animal” during a TV interview.
A short while later Ozdag issued his challenge to Soylu in a video posted on social media. With a group of supporters standing in the background, he declared he would be “alone and unarmed” in front of the Interior Ministry at 11 a.m. the following day.
“If you have one ounce of courage, wait for me at the ministry gate without hiding behind the honorable Turkish police,” he said.
