Turkey’s Erdoğan criticised for holding banquet during pandemic

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a banquet with live music for Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa El-Kazımi, drawing criticism from critical news websites and social media users.

“Everywhere is closed, everywhere is quarantined, but there’s a song and dance at the Palace,” the Tele1 website reported.

On Thursday Erdoğan held a ceremony with the Iraqi leader to sign new agreements and the dinner following this event was attended by dozens of people who were sitting at tables. Turkey mandates lockdowns across the country on Sundays and announced it will impose another ban for outings before the New Year’s Eve. Citizens face relatively high penalties if they are caught outside or without masks on but at the palace party, invitees appeared not to be socially distancing.

According to the pro-government Sabah newspaper, a “memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries on the prevention of double taxation in income tax and the prevention of tax evasion.”

President Erdoğan stated that “everybody knows the importance our neighbor Iraq attaches to the protection of political unity and territorial integrity, stability and security. We are ready to make all kinds of contributions within the framework of the reconstruction of Iraq.”

French news site L’Orient reported that Erdoğan pressed Iraq to cooperate in removing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from northern Iraq, but “Mr Erdoğan repeated over and over that his country intends to “deal” with the PKK in northern Iraq if Baghdad was “not in a position to do so”.

Two days before the banquet, a debate erupted in the Turkish parliament where Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Engin Altay complained about poverty and hunger in Turkey. AKP deputy Şahin Tin responded that people could eat “dry bread” and that means there is no hunger.

Some Turkish social media users questioned why guests at the banquet were not socially distancing when the pandemic is currently not under control in Turkey.

Others also wondered whether the guests at Erdoğan’s table could be seen drinking Turkey’s national alcoholic drink Raki. Turkish authorities recently banned the sale of alcohol in major cities at night and on weekends.