BBC: Today's governing AK Party is far more conservative than my workmates.
It is extremely popular in rural Turkey, and with the new urban, religious-conservative middle-class here.
But the AKP's leaders once belonged to a more radical, pro-Islamic party, and strictly secular Turks suspect their agenda has not changed.
To such sceptics, the fate of the pork business is proof.
A couple of hours' drive towards the Bulgarian border, I found a farm that seemed at first to be thriving.
Zafer, a farmer Trees heavy with honey-blossom did nothing to disguise the stink of some 300 pigs, snuffling through the mud for food.
"You'll find the smell addictive," Zafer the farmer laughed, as I tried in vain to block it out.
A lively man, with bushy brown curls, he invested heavily in his farm, spurred on by visions of British tourists breakfasting on his bacon, and diplomats barbecuing his pork chops.
But four years on, Zafer cannot sell a single animal for slaughter.
Just like Lazari with his abattoir, Zafer's farm has failed the new hygiene test.
On top of that the regulations now say you can only farm pigs if you say which abattoir will slaughter them: Catch-22 when they have already been closed.
"Back in Istanbul, the local Agriculture Ministry man denied the situation's anything to do with Islam"
"The government doesn't announce out loud that it has banned the pig farms," Zafer told me.
"But at the end of the day, that's what's happened here. They're trying to send a message to their religious constituents," he said.
Back in Istanbul, the local agriculture ministry man denied the situation's anything to do with Islam.
He insists the regulations were introduced to bring Turkey up to European standards.
"We've got no problem with pork," Ahmet Kavak told me. "The farmers just need to meet the criteria."
YEAH: THE QURAN AND SHARIA!
- THE AKP IS AN ISLAMICIST PARTY WITH A HAPPY FACE.
- AND THEY SCREWED US BEFORE THE IRAQ WAR.
- I HOPE THE TURKISH SUPREME COURT BANS THEM.
No comments:
Post a Comment