Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday said that information about possible assassination threats against him during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina would not deter him from attending a convention in the country, Sputnik news reported.
Erdoğan made the statement during a press conference following his meeting with Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ on Saturday had warned of possible “assassination threats” against Erdoğan during his Sunday visit to Bosnia, tweeting, “We are aware that there are circles who are uncomfortable with such a great leader, a man with a cause. We are aware that they want to get rid of our president. These assassination threats are not new, they have always been there.”
“Information came to me from the National Intelligence Organization [MİT], but I’m still here. Such threats will not deter me,” Sputnik quoted the Turkish president as saying.
Erdoğan also noted at the press conference that Turkey has no secret agenda in Bosnia but rather only seeks its prosperity, unity and economic improvement.
The Turkish president spoke at the sixth assembly of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), which recently established a sister lobbying organization in Bosnia, the Union of European Balkan Democrats (UEBD), in Sarajevo on Sunday afternoon, where he is looking to win the votes of 10,000 Turks residing in Bosnia and surrounding countries in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24.
Thousands, holding banners and pictures of Erdoğan attended the convention, which was held in Sarajevo’s largest sports venue.
Bakir Izetbegovic greeted Erdoğan at the gathering, saying that West did not like him because “he is a powerful Muslim leader that we have not had for a long time,” according to an AFP report.
During his speech Erdoğan urged Turks to unite for the presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24 and asked for their support, stating: “Let’s give a strong response that will be heard by Germany, France and Belgium. Are you ready to show the power of European Turks to the world?”
“Today, if some European countries exhibit demeaning behavior towards me and our land, the reason is the disarray of Turks in those countries,” Erdoğan argued.
The Turkish lobbying organizations are said to be close to Erdoğan. The UETD’s headquarters is in Cologne, home to one of the biggest Turkish communities in Germany. It has branches in other European cities with significant Turkish populations.
Zafer Sirakaya, president of the UETD, earlier said his organization is an NGO and has no direct links to Erdoğan or his party but concedes that there is a “bond of love” between the UETD and the Turkish president.
According to a report by Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW), Erdoğan has brought together more than 20,000 people in the Bosnian capital to back his election bid. But some leaders are worried his growing influence in the Balkans could lead to regional instability.
The event in Sarajevo was the only one of its kind scheduled in Europe after several EU countries banned campaign rallies, including Germany, the Netherlands and Austria.
Erdoğan called on the Turkish diaspora in Europe to play an active role in political parties of their countries of residence. “I request you to take part actively in political parties in the countries you live in,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan claimed the most enmity towards Turkey in European parliaments is being exhibited by Turkish-origin people. “On June 24, we will not only elect a president and lawmakers but we will also make a choice for the next century of our country,” Erdogan added, referring to the upcoming elections in Turkey.
DW reported that some leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina have expressed concerns about Erdoğan’s growing influence in the country, with Bosnian Serb leader Milord Dodik saying Erdoğan was “interfering a lot” in the country’s affairs.
Ahead of the rally, Erdoğan met with Izetbegovic. During a joint press conference, the Turkish president acknowledged criticism of his visit, saying Ankara is only interested in helping the Balkan country develop. “Our country has no secret agenda other than the welfare, unity and economic development of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Efforts to prove otherwise are futile,” claimed Erdoğan.
But the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) has pointed to Erdoğan regime’s growing influence in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Balkans as a possible source of instability. “Turkey’s president portrays himself as a protector of Muslims in former Ottoman dominions. He also uses this image in domestic politics, as millions of Turkish citizens have Bosnian or Albanian backgrounds,” said Janusz Bugajski, a senior fellow at CEPA.
“Initially seen as a useful supplement to the EU and the US, especially among the region’s Muslim populations, Turkey’s political interjections and self-declared ‘neo-Ottomanism’ are increasingly viewed with suspicion,” he said. (SCF with turkishminute.com)
The post ‘I am here despite assassination threats,’ Erdoğan claims in visit to Bosnia appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/i-am-here-despite-assassination-threats-erdogan-claims-in-visit-to-bosnia/
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