Journalist urges EU to confront Erdogan

BRUSSELS: The exiled former editor-in-chief of Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet urged EU leaders on Wednesday to stand up for their principles and confront President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Can Dundar, who fled to Germany last year while appealing against a near six-year jail term for revealing state secrets, told AFP in an interview however that it could be too late after they abandoned their "ideals" to win a refugee deal with Ankara.

Speaking shortly after Turkey detained more than 1,000 people in a new crackdown against alleged supporters of a cleric accused of orchestrating a coup bid last year, Dundar added that the "whole country is under arrest".

"This is the first time that one president has that kind of power and this is really dangerous. We are fighting against this aggression, all we have is just this - with a pen, it’s really difficult to fight against this kind of oppressive government," Dundar said.

Dundar was in Brussels to address the European Economic and Social Committee, a EU body grouping civil society organisations, just days after the EU’s enlargement commissioner said the bloc may have to find a new form of relationship with Turkey, whose EU membership bid has stalled.