Erdogan says George Soros wants to divide Turkey — and the world
Adding to a growing number of right-wing voices, Tayyip Erodgan calls the US investor and philanthropist the ‘famous Hungarian Jew Soros’
Ankara — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined a growing nationalist vilification of George Soros on Wednesday, accusing the billionaire philanthropist of supporting anti-government protests to divide Turkey and other countries around the world. Referring disparagingly to the Hungarian-born US investor as the “famous Hungarian Jew Soros”, Erdogan accused him of backing the so-called Gezi Park rallies of 2013. The protests swelled from a demonstration against plans to raze a park in central Istanbul to the biggest political challenge that then-prime minister Erdogan had faced against his rule. The president said Soros had been aided by “local collaborator” Osman Kavala, who he said has been in jail for more than a year for funding the rallies with the aim of sowing divisions among Turks. The remarks show Erdogan probably supports the detention last week of more than a dozen people linked to Kavala, including professors from some of Turkey’s most prominent universities and a j...
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