Turkey enters new stage of internal conflictsTurkish police have made at least 23 arrests during raids on a newspaper and TV station with close ties to US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. Among those arrested are journalists, producers, scriptwriters and a police chief in eastern Turkey, BBC reports.In a statement, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said any move towards membership depended on "full respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights". The raids and arrests "are incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core principle of democracy", the pair said in a statement. "The EU should mind its own business and keep its own opinions to itself," Mr Erdogan said, denying that the raids had infringed press freedom, BBC reports.Turkish expert Togrul Ismail told VK that there had been talks in the country about possible arrests for a long time. He said that the arrests mark the new stage in the struggle between the current leadership of Turkey and Gülen and his followers. He said that it was impossible to say that there would be no more arrests. "Nevertheless, the struggle continues and there might be new arrests," he said.
Turkish police have made at least 23 arrests during raids on a newspaper and TV station with close ties to US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. Among those arrested are journalists, producers, scriptwriters and a police chief in eastern Turkey, BBC reports.
In a statement, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said any move towards membership depended on "full respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights". The raids and arrests "are incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core principle of democracy", the pair said in a statement. "The EU should mind its own business and keep its own opinions to itself," Mr Erdogan said, denying that the raids had infringed press freedom, the BBC reports.
Turkish expert Togrul Ismail told VK that there had been talks in the country about possible arrests for a long time. He said that the arrests mark a new stage in the struggle between the current leadership of Turkey and Gülen and his followers. He said that it was impossible to say that there would be no more arrests. "Nevertheless, the struggle continues and there might be new arrests," he said.
