:00:00. > :00:20.With me Zeinab Badawi, from Istanbul, for this special
:00:21. > :00:27.I am at the presidential palace and my guest is the man inside, the
:00:28. > :00:33.president of Turkey, whom coup plotters tried to remove from power
:00:34. > :00:37.exactly one year ago. On the first anniversary of that failed coup, I
:00:38. > :00:41.asked him what his response is to critics who say he has used it as a
:00:42. > :01:00.pretext to purge all of his opponents. President Recep Tayyip
:01:01. > :01:06.Erdogan, welcomed the HARDtalk This time last year there was the failed
:01:07. > :01:09.coup. The country came together like never before. What has happened to
:01:10. > :02:34.that spirit of unity? But that's the point. Everybody came
:02:35. > :02:39.together. People of all ages, from different political persuasions,
:02:40. > :02:44.came out saying, we are for democracy, we are against the failed
:02:45. > :02:48.coup. But that spirit of unity has now gone and there are many critics
:02:49. > :02:55.inside the country and outside who say that you are using the failed
:02:56. > :02:57.coup as a pretext to clear all opposition against you. Not just the
:02:58. > :04:13.coup plotters. But we saw an unprecedented march
:04:14. > :04:19.from Ankara to Istanbul. Its slogan was 'law, rights, justice'. The
:04:20. > :04:23.feeling is, or the strong belief, that you are really pursuing anybody
:04:24. > :04:25.who criticises you. It's a case of if you're not with me, you're
:04:26. > :05:46.against me. But that's the point I was making.
:05:47. > :05:52.Millions came out after the failed coup. Now you see people coming out,
:05:53. > :05:56.marching in protest, which is why my original question to you was what
:05:57. > :06:49.has happened to that spirit of unity?
:06:50. > :06:58.I want to ask you specifically about the fact that journalists feel that
:06:59. > :07:02.they are not able to speak out openly, that the first thing, and
:07:03. > :07:06.secondly we've got to the stage where Turkey locks up more
:07:07. > :07:13.journalists than any other country in the world. In the last year with
:07:14. > :07:18.scene 160 media outlets close down, we seem to govern 500 journalists or
:07:19. > :07:25.media workers sacked from their jobs, you have 150 journalists in
:07:26. > :07:30.prison, which accounts for a third of all journalists in prison
:07:31. > :09:12.globally. What is it that makes you fear freedom of speech?
:09:13. > :09:55.Right, well, as I said, the figure is from Reporters Without Borders
:09:56. > :09:58.and there have been many people, European leaders and critics within
:09:59. > :10:02.the country, who have said that if the state of affairs. You have given
:10:03. > :10:06.your answer. Now we have nearly 200,000 Turkish citizens who are
:10:07. > :10:12.either detained, sucked or suspended from their jobs. Politicians,
:10:13. > :10:17.academics, journalists, we mentioned, following the failed
:10:18. > :10:20.coup. I want to ask you this. While you are waiting to see whether the
:10:21. > :10:26.courts find them guilty or not, how are they going to survive if they've
:10:27. > :10:28.lost their jobs? They also have dependents, they have elderly
:10:29. > :11:38.relatives, children. What happens to these people without jobs?
:11:39. > :11:53.But those who were sacked and suspended from their jobs, Mr
:11:54. > :11:57.president, how are they expected to survive? Does the Turkish government
:11:58. > :12:01.provided with social security payments? Because they have been
:12:02. > :12:03.stripped of their livelihoods. What happens to their families if they
:12:04. > :13:07.can't work again? You mentioned the fact that you say
:13:08. > :13:11.that they are guilty of being coup plotters, therefore they are
:13:12. > :13:15.supporters of the US -based cleric living in Pennsylvania, you have
:13:16. > :13:19.asked the US for his extradition. You had a meeting with President
:13:20. > :13:25.Donald Trump not that long ago. What did he say to you about extraditing
:13:26. > :14:08.him, who denies involvement in the coup?
:14:09. > :14:13.Relations with the European Union are pretty much at an all-time low
:14:14. > :14:18.between Turkey and the EU, in particular Germany. What exactly is
:14:19. > :15:43.the problem between you and Chancellor Angela Merkel?
:15:44. > :15:52.Do you personally believe that Turkey is better in or out of the
:15:53. > :16:31.European Union? What is your personal opinion?
:16:32. > :16:40.Mr President, it sounds like you are saying you personally believe Turkey
:16:41. > :17:23.would be better out of the EU. Or, not...
:17:24. > :17:32.What about the United Kingdom? Because the Foreign Secretary Boris
:17:33. > :17:38.Johnson of course has Turkish ancestry and he wrote very rude:
:17:39. > :17:40.about you. Has he apologised about that and has that incident in any
:17:41. > :18:20.way damaged UK- Turkish ties? No, I was just...! I was just asking
:18:21. > :18:30.if he perhaps apologised to you for having a Schleck did he apologise?
:18:31. > :18:36.Talking about the United Kingdom of course, post- Brexit, your Prime
:18:37. > :18:39.Minister has said in talks that he had with Theresa May, the British
:18:40. > :18:44.Prime Minister, in February but after Britain leads the United union
:18:45. > :18:47.any bilateral deal, trade deal, between Turkey and the United
:18:48. > :18:51.Kingdom would have to be based on the fact that there would have to be
:18:52. > :18:55.freedom of movement for Turkish citizens between the UK and Turkey,
:18:56. > :18:57.if there is to be a bilateral deal, that is the condition. Is that the
:18:58. > :19:47.case? But will you say, as your Prime
:19:48. > :19:51.Minister has stated, that it is a condition of any bilateral trade
:19:52. > :19:54.agreement between Turkey and the UK post- Brexit that there has to be
:19:55. > :20:09.freedom of movement for Turkish citizens?
:20:10. > :20:19.So it's an objective? Turkey is a really pivotal nation. In that you
:20:20. > :20:22.have the second-biggest army in Nato and when it comes to this
:20:23. > :20:25.neighbourhood, the Middle East, it's a very, very tough on anti- plate he
:20:26. > :20:32.rolled and given the tensions between Qatar and four other Arab
:20:33. > :20:37.states, and one of the conditions that have been put on Tata is that
:20:38. > :20:40.the Turkish military base be closed, gives a more military personnel so
:20:41. > :20:45.it's simple question really, do you think there is a danger that the
:20:46. > :20:51.tensions could escalate into something militaristic and what
:20:52. > :20:53.would be your response? Would you be a party to such a conflict if it
:20:54. > :21:58.happened? You mentioned Syria and of course
:21:59. > :22:03.the talks going on in Geneva to try to see if there is any way forward
:22:04. > :22:07.on Syria. Is there a future for President al-Assad for any shape or
:22:08. > :22:20.form in the transition or otherwise, is there a future for him?
:22:21. > :22:53.I think it's about 600,000. What about...? What about the PKK which
:22:54. > :22:57.is of course at organisation as far as the United States, the European
:22:58. > :23:02.Union and of course Turkey is concerned. What is the possibility
:23:03. > :23:33.of seeing the start to a process that could bring about a resolution?
:23:34. > :23:39.And finally and very briefly, the referendum on constitutional changes
:23:40. > :23:45.means that if you wish you could stand for presidential elections in
:23:46. > :23:49.2019 for two five-year terms which means if you when you could be in
:23:50. > :23:51.power until 2029, are you going to be running for president in 2019,
:23:52. > :24:19.possibly after that? President Erdogan of Turkey, thank
:24:20. > :24:41.you very much indeed for coming on HARDtalk. Thank you.
:24:42. > :24:44.With the weekend fast approaching, please don't make this the last
:24:45. > :24:48.We'll be fine-tuning the details because we will have some
:24:49. > :24:53.But one thing's for sure, it won't be as hot as it's