Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday accused the European Union of waging a “dirty campaign” against Ankara by criticising the recent arrests that targeted opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Speaking at a congress of his ruling Justice and Development Party in Ankara, Davutoglu condemned an EU statement saying: “The EU even made its statement on a holiday. With this statement, they started a dirty campaign concerning our government.”
“With this dirty campaign, they are waging a defamation campaign against our government and our country,” he added
EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini and the Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn last week criticised the Turkish police raids on journalists, scriptwriters and police describing the raids as “incompatible with the freedom of media” which Turkey should respect.
The officials warned that the progress of Turkey’s accession to the EU depends on respecting democratic rules.
On December 14 Turkish police launched a new campaign of arrests against supporters of US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.