Only a week ago, I wrote, “There is never a dull moment in Turkey.” My inspiration at the time was the drama of the prime minister stalking out of a solemn, official event. He lost his control, stood up and yelled at the speaker, who happened to be the chairman of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. All this drama took place in front of the president and was televised live.
After less than a week, I need to add a new dictum: “Impossibility is impossible in today’s Turkey.” During a visit to the western Turkish town of Soma, where hundreds of miners lost their lives in a disaster mourned by the entire nation, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was caught on video seemingly striking a young miner inside a shop. Erdogan was forced to take refuge in a supermarket when confronted by an angry crowd calling for his resignation.
