Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference with the French president at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 5, 2018. REUTERS/Ludovic Marin/Pool
January 5, 2018
PARIS (Reuters) – Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday some journalists helped nurture terrorists through their writing, after his French counterpart told a joint news conference that countries must respect the law in their fight against terrorism.
“Terror doesn’t form by itself. Terror and terrorists have gardeners,” Erdogan said, standing next to French President Emmanuel Macron who had voiced concern about the fate of students, teachers and journalists in Turkey’s crackdown.
“These gardeners are those people viewed as thinkers. They water … from their columns on newspapers,” Erdogan said. “And one day, you find, these people show up as a terrorist in front of you.”
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay, Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Dominic Evans)
