Jean-Jacques Cornish

Turkish NGOs condemn abortive coup

Turkish and South African non governmental organisations have condemned the abortive coup in that country just over two weeks ago.

They applauded  the unprecedented unity across the Turkish political spectrum in standing against the attempted military overthrow.

However, they offered no evidence supporting  government blaming a religious organisation for the action.

 

Aubebekir Salim of the South Africa and Turkey Friendship Initiiative says the NGO’s are merely repeating charges made by the government and offer none of their own opinions.

 

Their statement quotes chief of Turkey’s armed forces Hulusi Akar refusing a request by the putschists to speak to exiled religious leader Fetullah Gulen.

Gulen supported Presdident Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rise to the presidency.

However they fell out when Gulen uncovered alleged fraud in Erdogan’s government.

Erdogan now alleges Gulen planned the failed coup.

 

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Jean-Jacques Cornish is a journalist and broadcaster who has been involved in the media all his adult life.

Starting as a reporter on his hometown newspaper, he moved briefly to then Rhodesia before returning to South Africa to become a parliamentary correspondent with the South African Press Association. He was sent to London as Sapa’s London editor and also served as special correspondent to the United Nations. He joined the then Argus group in London as political correspondent.

Returning to South Africa after 12 years abroad, he was assistant editor on the Pretoria News for a decade before becoming editor of the Star and SA Times for five years.

Since 1999 he’s been an independent journalist writing and broadcasting – mainly about Africa – for Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape
Talk, Radio France International, PressTV, Radio Live New Zealand, Business Day, Mail & Guardian, the BBC, Agence France Press,
Business in Africa, Leadership, India Today, the South African Institute for International Affairs and the Institute for Security Studies.

He has hosted current affairs talk shows on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk. He appears as an African affairs pundit on SABC Africa and CNBC Africa.
He lectured in contemporary studies to journalism students at the Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Pretoria.

He speaks on African affairs to corporate and other audiences.
He has been officially invited as a journalist to more than 30 countries. He was the winner of the 2007 SADC award for radio journalism.

He’s been a member of the EISA team observing elections in Somaliland, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Tunsiai.

In October 2009 he headed a group of 39 African journalists to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Peoples’ Republic of China.

In January 2010 he joined a rescue and paramedical team to earthquake struck Haiti.

He is immediate past president of the Alliance Francaise of Pretoria.

Jean-Jacques is a director of Giant Media. The company was given access to Nelson Mandela in his retirement years until 2009.
He is co-producer of the hour-long documentary Mandela at 90 that was broadcast on BBC in January 2009.