Turkey turns Hagia Sophia into a mosque (user search)

Quote from: urutzizu on July 12, 2020, 08:27:17 PM

Quote from: jaymichaud on July 12, 2020, 06:30:54 PM

For real though, this is their attempt to take attention off their horrible reaction to COVID-19. They've been giving out fraudulent and altered numbers from the start (especially the death count) and more and more Turks are losing their jobs and their patience towards them. In an attempt to change the narrative they started these talks about Hagia Sophia becoming a mosque several weeks ago. This will keep their base distracted for a while (but the closest election is in 2023 so I doubt the move will stay relevant until then).

Make no mistake though, its impact is huge right now in AKP's/Erdogan's voterbase. This is the type of culture war "victory" they needed to boost morale.

That's...not correct? Turkey was one of the countries to act fastest against the Coronavirus, shutting schools on March 12th, when the Country had a single confirmed case, and closing Restaurants, Cafe's and many other venues on March 15th when the Country had 18 cases. For comparison Germany, which has been held up as one of the best examples of dealing with the Virus, did so on March 13 (3600 Cases) and March 20-22 (19600 Cases) respectively. In addition to that Turkey has managed to achieve similar containment to most european countries without shutting down major parts of the economy: Turkey's lockdown has been targeted, against the over-65s and under-20s, which were locked down completely, weekend curfews were imposed, and major cities were sealed off, but most shops and much of the economy continued operating.

It's why the contraction in Turkish GDP for 2020 is forecasted (by the IMF for instance) to be around 5%, with full recovery by 2021, contrasted to the double digit falls in much of Europe and despite the vast underlying problems of the Turkish economy in recent years. It is a popular talking point for those anyways politically inclined so, but there is no real evidence to suggest that Turkish Covid-19 statistics are significantly more inaccurate to the extent of those in much of Europe. Taken as percentage of Excess deaths for instance in Istanbul (no proper nationwide numbers), yes Covid-19 deaths (mar-apr) are only 40% of the excess death toll. But that's a similar number to many European countries (Netherlands with 44% for instance). Are those fraudulent numbers, or are they because many deaths have not tested positive, a similar issue as in most European countries? In any event Turkey's death toll still remains much lower.

One does not need to be a Turkish nationalist to acknowledge this. A good article by the BBC here for instance: www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52831017

Not that there weren't missteps. There was much controversy about the failure during the distribution of face masks or Erdogan's appeal for citizens to donate to the state at a time where the reverse should be happening. Pettyness when dealing with Istanbul's mayor Imamoglu and general problems with Turkey's extreme centralisation didn't help. Of course the Turkish economy has been hit hard, reliant on Tourism. But Turkey's response has hardly been as bad as you make it out to be, especially compared to most European countries. Erdogan's approval is still considerably higher than it was pre Coronavirus (51%/48% Metropoll/Area now versus 42% Metropoll in January). During the Peak of the Crisis he was even up at 58%.

It is a distraction, of course, but probably aimed less at a audience at home as a global audience in the Muslim world. Political Islam has been somewhat losing its Appeal in Turkey, and if polling is anything to go by most Turks are not being particularly wooed by the gesture.

Thank you for that interesting overview that goes beyond stock cliches.

	Welcome, Guest. Please login or register. May 18, 2024, 12:36:44 AM

News: Election Simulator 2.0 Released. Senate/Gubernatorial maps, proportional electoral votes, and more - Read more