Upset with world, PM stages all-out bashing

BALI, Indonesia

AA photo

Throwing diplomacy out the window, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized major world institutions, bashing both the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for their structures. He also argued that capital punishment “is legitimate in certain situations,” referring to the recent court ruling in the case against Norwegian-mass murder Breivik.

Speaking at the Bali Democracy Forum in Indonesia, Erdoğan criticized the U.N. for its inaction on certain issues, including Syria and the Israel-Palestine stalemate. He went on to issue harsh criticisms against the IMF for what he called its “bitter” prescriptions.

In a stab at Norway, Erdoğan said the prison sentence handed to Norwegian-mass murderer Anders Breivik was insufficient and that he should have been given the death penalty instead to ensure peace for the families of the victims. “I asked them, I was curious. How can someone who has killed 77 people be sentenced to 21 years in prison? I was told that he [Breivik] would not be out again, that something would be found at the end of the 21 years to keep him in for another 21 years.”

“But how can I be sure of that?” Erdoğan asked. “Yes, the death penalty was removed from Europe, but has it left America, Japan and China? Therefore there is a justified cause for the death penalty to remain.”

Erdoğan argued that the Breivik ruling fell short of offering the families of victims proper compensation and relief. “I don’t believe that [the victims’ families] are at peace when someone who murdered 77 people can just walk around freely,” Erdoğan said.

The prime minister also leveled harsh criticism against the United Nations. He declared that he was against a distinction between permanent and non-permanent membership of the Security Council, and added he thought all members in the Security Council should be permanent.

“What is the efficacy of the U.N. beyond the Security Council? Everything is determined by the five permanent members of the council. If one of them vetoes you cannot find any solution,” Erdoğan said. “The U.N. has not been able to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue. It is incapable [of action] on the Somalia issue and Myanmar as well. When will the U.N. take action if it cannot resolve these issues,” the prime minister said.

Turning his attention to the IMF, Erdoğan continued to issue criticisms. “It is thought-provoking that the IMF is not using gold as a global currency rather than any currency, and it only gives aid on a where and what basis,” he said. Reminding his audience of Turkey’s “bitter” experiences with the fund, the premier said the prescriptions of the IMF often caused serious problems for countries in trouble. “One would wish that the IMF would help the countries in trouble, but this is not the case, we should achieve this,” he said.

Erdoğan said the IMF, along with the UN, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) should be reformed immediately.