Global: On Erdogan's Walkout

Earlier this week, Global Voices Turkey author Deborah Ann Dilley detailed the events of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, during which Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off the stage following an argument with Israeli President Shimon Peres. Turkish bloggers weren't the only ones to react to the kerfuffle; A number of bloggers from around the world had something to say about the incident as well:
Richard Silverstein, blogging for Tikun Olam, a liberal Jewish-American blog which focuses on Palestinian-Israeli peace, said of the incident:

Shimon Peres put on a display of fireworks, venom and histrionics–in his talk at Davos (60 minute video) about the Gaza war–that was startling. He shouted, wagged his finger, hectored, berated. It was astonishing. His antagonist was primarily the Turkish prime minister Erdogan, who took Israel’s prime minister Olmert to task for wasting an opportunity to make peace with Syria under Turkish auspices during a meeting only four days before the Gaza attack. In fact one wonders why Olermt would go forward with such a meeting when he knew what the IDF had in store for Gaza. It really was the ultimate insult for his Turkish hosts. Of course, if you read the Israeli rightist press like the Jerusalem Post you’ll find nothing but vitriol for Turkey, which is viewed as the one which betrayed Israel. But the right never wanted negotiations with Syria anyway.

Kalash, writing for Arab-American blog KABOBfest, had this to say about Erdogan's actions:

When Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan walked away from a WEF session on Gaza, he did so angrily but calmly – he did not “storm” off the stage as we keep reading in the press. While he was understandably offended by the Israeli president, he kept his composure. He finally left because the moderator would not allow him to speak. He explained himself later at a press conference with the WEF president before leaving Davos, possibly for the last time. At the end of the day, it was more about Turkish pride than anything else.

But West Bank-based blogger Marcy Newman of Body of the Line put it most concisely when she said:

next time i hope someone gives erdogan a shoe…


Also on Global Voices Online:


Egypt: Erdoğan, Leader of the World

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