Erdogan accuses West of ‘barbarism’ in Gaza

Istanbul, December 9

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a speech on human rights on Saturday to accuse the West of “barbarism” for its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia. “Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity,” Erdogan told a packed hall in Istanbul the day before the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“All the values relating to humanity are being murdered in Gaza. In the face of such brutality, international institutions and human rights organisations are not taking any concrete steps to prevent such violations,” the Turkish leader said. The human rights declaration, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, enshrines a standard for human rights and freedoms for all people.

Referring to Friday’s US veto of a United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, Erdogan said a fairer world was possible “but not with America because the USA stands with Israel. … From now on, humanity won’t think the USA supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.

Turkiye’s human rights record during Erdogan’s two decades in power has come under frequent criticism over the targeting of government critics and political opponents, the undermining of judicial independence and the weakening of democratic institutions. Turkiye withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on preventing and violence against women and has failed to implement European Court of Human Rights judgments. — AP