Turkish governor denies having cursed at protester

ADANA – Doğan News Agency

Adana Governor Hüseyin Avni Coş cursed in front of cameras at a protester, saying 'Get that p*mp who told me "God damn you."'

A Turkish governor who was heard and caught on camera shouting a curse at a man protesting against him during a commemoration ceremony today in Adana has claimed he was misunderstood due to similarities between two words.

Adana Gov. Hüseyin Avni Coş targeted a man who was among dozens of protesters in front of cameras, saying, “Get that p*mp who told me ‘God damn you.’”

But he later claimed he did not say “gavat,” which means p*mp in Turkish, but instead said “kavas,” which means, “a man who walks around and rambles.”

“This act [the protests] did not accord with the meaning of today, it was a provocation,” Coş said, condemning the protests against him.

Coş was also seen telling the man, “I’ll talk to you later,” in a threatening way before getting into his car.

He waved at the crowd despite protest whistles by a group of people after the commemoration ceremony held for the 75th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Soon after the car began moving, Coş left the car and moved on the man he targeted, ordering his guards to detain him.

A scuffle erupted between the protesters and the governors’ bodyguards for a while.

Coş recently made headlines by voicing strong support for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s condemnation of female and male students’ living under one roof. "I consider the prime minister's words to be orders," he had said.