Thorbjorn Jagland, newly elected as General Secretary of the Council of Europe, delivers his speech in Strasbourg, September,2009. Cedric Joubert/Press Association. All rights reserved.There was exhaustive coverage by international media of the post-coup meeting between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St. Petersburg. Now the Kremlin host may pay a return visit. The media spotlight however did not fall on one other – perhaps, quite unexpected – Erdogan ally: Thorbjorn Jagland, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General.
In August Mr Jagland met President Ergodan and other high-ranking Turkish officials in Ankara. Mr Jagland publicly expressed his support for the measures taken by Erdogan in the aftermath of the abortive coup attempt of 15 July. Most revealingly, the Secretary General stated the following in remarks published on the official website of the Council of Europe: “There has been too little understanding in Europe about the challenges facing democracy and state institutions in Turkey after the outrageous coup attempt of 15 July”.
Jagland’s apparent willingness to serve as Erdogan’s advocate undermines the very values and objectives of the Council of Europe he is supposed to promote.
