Who lost Turkey?

by on January 30, 2009 3

I still love the New York Times. A great newspaper; here's a simply perfect and objective account by Sebnem Arsu (with the help of many other reporters, including Isabel Kershner, whom this site has criticized) of an important incident, the Turkish Prime Minister's walkout from Davos, to a hero's welcome back home. Journalism increasingly is going to have this international character. Erdogan's imputation of guilt over the slaughter of children to Shimon Peres and his sanctification of a diverse but mostly Muslim nation-state are fascinating. (Note that the transcript of the exchange with Peres is here rendered precisely and accurately (apparently), unlike the contemporaneous translation offered in the youtube video of the incident.) 
Phil Weiss, with thanks to Nader Hashemi.

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Beyondoweiss, Gaza, Israel/Palestine, US Politics

{ 3 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Tommy says:
    January 30, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    When this article was first published on the NY Times' website yesterday, it said something like "the militant group Hamas seized Gaza." When I looked at it an hour later, when I was going to comment about it on the NYT post, the wording had been changed.

  2. basheer says:
    January 30, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    The Turkish PM`s words were a lot harsher than how they widely appear in the English speaking media. For example, Erdogan`s actual remarks to Peres were "You know very well how to kill people" and not "You are killing people" as it widely appears. The maltranslation undermines the severeness of Erdogan`s anti-diplomatic approach.

  3. dance says:
    January 31, 2009 at 11:42 am

    I am curious. When I first read of this, Peres was also quoted as saying

    "Why did they fire rockets? There was no siege against Gaza," Peres said, his voice rising in emotion. "Why did they fight us, what did they want? There was never a day of starvation in Gaza."

    http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=42771

    Is the summary at the end of this video:
    link to youtube.com
    where the reporter says that Peres' had said:
    That none of the crossings had ever been closed
    incorrect?

    If it is not incorrect then why are Peres' statements not being reported? Or did he not say these words and it is part of the 'contemporaneous translation' you refer to?

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