Cihan Kulivar criticized the Turkish people’s dependence on bread as a staple food
Turkish authorities arrested the head of the Istanbul Bakers’ Union on Wednesday after accusing the ruling party of having “insulted and harassed the Turkish nation”.
Cihan Kulivar is still in custody for insulting the Turkish president, after he claimed last Monday in a television interview that Turks eat bread more than other countries, describing bread as “the staple food of foolish societies,” explaining that this is why the same rulers remain in the country for twenty years.
Local media in Turkey claimed that the head of the Bakers’ Union, who is in custody, “publicly insults the Turkish nation”, after claiming that the Turkish people’s “foolish” love for bread was the reason for the their election of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for two decades.
“Bread is the staple of foolish societies,” Kolivar said, during an interview with Turkish TV Haberturk about rising bread prices amid the country’s continuing high inflation rate, kilograms per person per year. , while the individual eats between 45-50 kilograms of it in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England and Japan.
Those statements led him to the detention facility, where he is still being held.
On Wednesday, the Istanbul court decided to remand the head of the city’s bakers union pending investigations into allegations of outrage against the president and the Turkish nation, according to the Anatolia news agency.
“Kolivar’s comments are hate speech,” said Omer Celik, spokesman for the ruling Party for Justice and Development in Turkey.
He added: “Besides the fact that (the statements) insult the nation and the bread, the statements show that it is an element of those who adopt hostile and hateful policies.”
Turkey is the subject of widespread criticism from human rights groups and its Western partners for restricting freedom of expression.
Erdogan’s opponents believe that his unconventional monetary policies are the reason for the suffering of the Turkish economy.
However, the Turkish president believes that these policies aim to support exports and investments and provide more job opportunities.
Turkish inflation recorded its highest level in the last 24 years, having reached 85.5%. Inflation began to rise sharply from the collapse of the Turkish lira due to the Turkish Central Bank’s rate cut in line with Erdogan’s policies.
