Shoe-throwing protest draws ire from many Turks
Posted by meb at October 3rd, 2009
The shoe-hurling protest of a student-journalist directed toward International Money Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday has drawn massive criticism from a majority of the Turkish public, while some perceived it as a sign of Turks’ suspicion of and disillusion with the IMF.
The incident took place during Strauss-Kahn’s speech to students at İstanbul Bilgi University earlier on Thursday. Turkish student Selçuk Özbek, 24 — who is also a journalist for the small left-wing newspaper Birgün — threw his white sports shoe at Strauss-Kahn, but the shoe fell short hitting him. Another student tried to unfurl a banner but was overpowered by security teams. Both students were detained by the police but were later released.
British business newspaper the Financial Times said the incident was considered to be a reflection of the deep distrust of the IMF in the country hosting the meetings. The daily asserted that Turkey’s propensity for economic crises made it one of the IMF’s most assiduous clients. “Many Turks blame the IMF for fostering a reliance on external funding, with one columnist likening relations to those ‘between the drug addict and the drug dealer.’ But 18 loans later, and after a year of on-off talks over a new financing package, the government is determined to prove it is no longer reliant on either the IMF’s money or its policy blueprints,” the daily reported.
Talks between Turkey and the IMF on a possible stand-by deal have been continuing without reaching an agreement for a long time, despite pressure from both the domestic and overseas business communities, the daily stated, adding that “this new confidence comes despite a punishing recession,” referring to a recent survey conducted by the World Bank which found that three-quarters of families had lost income this year in Turkey’s five largest cities.
Meanwhile, government officials expressed concern about the incident. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that he considered it an attack, not a protest. “I consider throwing a shoe to be disrespectful to Turkish hospitality by imitating the incident that occurred in Iraq. This is not a democratic stance,” he added.
Interior Minister Beşir Atalay said: “Throwing a shoe exceeds the limit. This is sad for us. Turkey is hosting an important meeting, and we have to do it well,” adding that security measures have been taken for the IMF-World Bank meetings.
source: Today’s Zaman
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