Latest news with #RecepErdoğan
Spectator
4 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Brace yourselves for more Quran-burning trials in Britain
You might well have felt slightly repelled if last February you had passed someone ineptly trying to set fire to a copy of the Quran on the streets of London, while simultaneously using some remarkably fruity language about Islamic doctrine and its effect on believers. The man was Turkish dissident Hamit Coşkun: much to the disgust of a passing Muslim, he was burning the book outside the Turkish consulate as a demonstration against the excessive Islamification of Turkey under Recep Erdoğan. But whatever your distaste, you should be very worried about the fact that this man has now been branded a criminal – indeed, a hate criminal. Yesterday a district judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court had no compunction at convicting him of a religiously aggravated public order offence of engaging in disorderly conduct likely to cause distress. The judgment (available here)
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kurdish leader urges fighters to disarm after decades-long insurgency with Turkey
The imprisoned leader of a Kurdish militant group called for fighters to lay down their weapons and dissolve the movement following a 40-year insurgency against Turkey. Abdullah Ocalan's comments on Thursday, if heeded by his Kurdistan Workers' Party forces, could pave the way for ending one of the world's longest ongoing conflicts, holding vast ramifications for the Middle East. The fighting has killed more than 40,000 people, and Kurdish forces control territory in Syria, Iran, and Iraq. In talks with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan's allies, Ocalan has reportedly discussed his potential release in exchange for renouncing the insurgency. Erdoğan has domestic and foreign policy motivations to end the conflict, Middle East Institute expert Gönül Tol noted: He may need the backing of pro-Kurdish lawmakers to stay in power beyond 2028. The Turkish leader also wants to leverage Iran's weakness to make inroads in Iraq, and believes an end to the fighting could help that cause. 'It's a high-risk, high-reward gamble,' Tol said.
