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Barack Obama baseball bat photograph sparks outrage in Turkey
Barack Obama baseball bat photograph sparks outrage in Turkey A photograph of Barack Obama holding a baseball bat while on the telephone to the Turkish prime minister -- supposed to illustrate the close relationship between the pair -- backfired, after it sparked outrage in Turkey. The President was pictured in the Oval office speaking to Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the escalating crisis in Syria. In one hand was the telephone and the other a bat signed by legendary ballplayer Hank Aaron. But the photograph caused dismay from opposition Turkish politicians who have interpreted a more menacing message behind the image. "The photo reveals from whom our Prime Minister receives orders to rule the country," Metin Lutfi Baydar, an opposition politician for Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) party, said. Another CHP leader, the party's vice president Umut Oran, said the picture was "an implicit insult to Turkey and its citizens" in Parliament. Clearly stung by the reaction, the White House released a statement to clarify the reason for releasing the picture. "We released the photo with only one purpose in mind, to highlight the President's continuing close relationship with Prime Minister Erdogan and draw attention to the important conversation they had about the worsening situation in Syria," Caitlin Hayden, a spokesman for the White House, wrote in a statement released Friday.
Posted by: lotp 2012-08-06 |
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