ISTANBUL: The Turkish embassy in Lebanon contacted the Lebanese foreign ministry and demanded the state institution take “necessary measures” against a television show called Ana Heik, which was broadcast on 10 June on Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed channel, foreign media reported.
During the show, host Neshan Derharoutynian interviewed former Environment Minister Wiam Wahab, and according to Lebanese state-run National News Agency, the pair “publicly and directly offended” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people.
Responding to a message from a viewer who accused the host of racism for calling Erdogan evil, the Lebanese host Derharoutynian confirmed [he is] “..evil and the son of a million evil men” before clarifying his attack was directed toward “Erdogan, the [Turkish] regime, the Ottomans and the Turks.
The embassy “strongly condemns the verbal insults” against the Turkish president and requested the intervention of the Lebanese foreign ministry with the country’s competent authorities to “guarantee the respect of the Turkish President in all Lebanese media,” said NNA.Secretary-General of the Lebanese Foreign Ministry Hani Chmeitli demanded the information ministry take “necessary measures…knowing that such attacks would disturb the relations of Lebanon with foreign countries,” it added.
Ankara has been swift in its repression of anti-Erdogan sentiment, and earlier this week it criticised Twitter after the social media network removed over 7,000 accounts that supported Erdogan and his political party.
On Friday, Twitter announced it cracked down on “state-linked information operations” from Turkey, Russia and China, and has suspended thousands of accounts for violations of the social network’s platform manipulation policies. Twitter said it suspended 7,340 profiles that were employing “coordinated inauthentic activity” targeting an audience within Turkey.
AFP
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