In a swift and brutal act that some are calling a "palace coup," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday sacked his prime minister, Ahmet Davutogla, to further cement his own power at the helm of the only Muslim NATO country, The Daily Beast website reports today (May 5, 2016).
Davutogla recently convinced the EU (European Union) to grant visa-free travel for Turks, in exchange for Turkey taking back migrants rejected by Greece. Erdogan publicly dismissed that pact as a mere "detail."
Some reports indicate that Erdogan got rid of Davutogla because the prime minister secured a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington during a scheduled visit for this month. The trip has now been canceled. After meeting with President Obama last month, Erdogan said Obama "betrayed" him by saying that the Turkish president should end Turkey's rejection of a free press.
Davutogla's ouster conveys that Erdogan -- who has made headlines in recent weeks with his criticism of the West and his rejection of a free press in Turkey -- no longer faces any real competition in shaping Turkey's future course.
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