After Destroying Free Speech and The Free Press In Turkey, Erdogan Moves To Punish Those Who Criticize Him Abroad

The United States continues to give overwhelming support to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he continues his expansion of authoritarian power, the dismantling of secular government in favor of Islamic rule, and the destruction of free speech and the free press in the country. Now Erdogan’s insatiable appetite for censorship and sanctions of critics has extended to outside of Turkey where he is demanding that critics be silenced. Not only has his thuggish security details been criticized for roughing up protesters in Europe and the United States, but Turkey is demanding action from governments against his critics.

Erdogan’s ire was recently directed against a satirical music video on German television, which the Turkish government demanded should be “removed from the air.” It appears that the Turkish government has lost any notion of free speech and was mystified how anyone could be allowed to air a critical piece against Erdogan . . . even on German television.

Not surprisingly, the German government rejected the demand.

Here is the video:

The video is a parody of a 1980s song by the German pop star Nena, “Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann,” (“Anyway, Anywhere, Anytime”) which is changed to “Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan.” The facts that it reports however are not satirical but actual. The video details Erdogan crackdown on democracy and basic freedoms as well as his infamous intolerance for any criticism.

The only good thing is that the Turkish effort to force Germany to censor the video has lead to an overwhelming desire to see it. In the 24 hours after the Turkish demand, the video was viewed nearly three million times more on YouTube, including more than a quarter of a million views of the new Turkish version.