'Biased articles'

I am writing with regard to two articles published in The Jordan Times on November 5, 2015 on the general elections in Turkey. These articles are titled: “Bad news for Turkey, this region and international community” and “Why the West should worry about Turkey”. 

I was disappointed not only with the heavily biased and irrationally subjective content of these articles about Turkey, but also with the manner in which these two articles were published in the Opinion and Analysis page of The Jordan Times on the same day, as if they alone reflected the agreed opinion of the international community regarding elections in Turkey. This configuration misrepresents reality and compromises the objectivity of your distinguished newspaper.

As it is true with similar comments about elections in Turkey, the main deficiency of these articles is the total lack of acknowledgement of the fact that these elections were held in a free and democratic environment, and that as such the results should be respected by all as the expression of the will of the people. These elections have once again proved that Turkey is a constitutional democracy where the principles of transparency and rule of law are upheld.     

Contrary to the reprehensible allegations in the above-mentioned articles, it is the terrorist organisation PKK that resumed acts of terrorism against Turkey, and it was the unity and integrity of Turkey that was targeted by the Daesh-affiliated suicide bombers in Ankara. And it is the brutal aggression of the Syrian regime against its own people and the failure and procrastination of the international community to stop the resulting bloodshed that plunged Syria into a protracted crisis.

As for Turkey, not only has it been accommodating more than 2 million Syrian refugees at a great cost and national sacrifice, but also tackling the fallout of the crisis in terms of combating the Daesh and PKK terrorism. As such, Turkey remains an indispensable stakeholder in finding a viable political solution to the Syrian crisis and constructively contributes to international efforts towards this end.

Sedat Önal
Ambassador of Turkey
Amman