UPDATE - Türkiye slams French magazine Charlie Hebdo for cartoon insulting President Erdogan

ADDS REMARKS OF VICE PRESIDENT, PARLIAMENT SPEAKER, JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT PARTY SPOKESMAN

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye on Wednesday condemned French magazine Charlie Hebdo's cover cartoon insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the country’s May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections.

"I strongly condemn Charlie Hebdo's targeting of our President and the will of the Turkish nation under the guise of freedom of expression," Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter.

Erdogan's success disturbed them, Oktay said, adding: "Our beloved nation will give the necessary answer to this mentality once again on 28 May."

Calling the magazine a “rag,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said now that it “has gone so crazy,” this means Türkiye is “on the right track. Evil is like that sometimes. It guides the good.”

On Twitter, he added: "Don't worry CH. Our nation will give you the best answer, with a louder voice, on May 28,” referring to the upcoming presidential runoff election. While Erdogan did not get the majority needed to win the first-round presidential race, leading to the runoff, he took a clear lead in round one.

Kalin’s remarks came after Charlie Hebdo carried a cartoon of Erdogan in a bathtub on its cover, referring to the 1978 death of popular singer Claude François (Cloclo) from an electric shock while bathing. Referring to Erdogan, it said: "Like Cloclo, only fate will save us from him."

- 'No need to take Charlie Hebdo seriously'

Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop said everyone knows that Charlie Hebdo is famous for its hostility against Islam.

"There's no need to take it too seriously. We must leave this rabid mentality to its own disease," he said on Twitter.

Communications Director Fahrettin Altun also blasted the magazine.

"One of the most important centers of provocation, insults and blasphemy in the world media, the ugly publication Charlie Hebdo has once again proved to the world how disgusting it is with its latest immoral and inhumane caricature of our president," he said.

Altun added it seems that the "great success" of Erdogan in the May 14 elections "made those deprived of honor also lose their sleep, spread their sick moods and vomit their grudges and hatreds."

He said to the magazine and its ilk: “No matter what you do, you cannot intimidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan. You cannot turn us away from our path."

Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesman Omer Celik said that the magazine called Charlie Hebdo is a "hate crimes journal."

"The fact that all these hate groups target our President is the product of their fascist mentality. Our nation continues to teach democracy lessons to all of them. Our nation has once again demonstrated its commitment to democratic values to the whole world," Celik said on Twitter.

He added that the Turkish nation has shown its respect for democracy on every occasion, saying: "We leave the fascists of Europe to their own hatred."

Millions of voters went to the polls on May 14 to elect the country's president and members of its 600-seat parliament.

Erdogan’s People’s Alliance won a majority in parliament, while the presidential race is headed to a second-round runoff on May 28, though Erdogan took the lead in round one.

Erdogan and his closest competitor Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and joint candidate for the six-party opposition Nation Alliance, will face off in round two.

In years past, Charlie Hebdo has attracted controversy and condemnation for printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad as well earlier this year making light of Türkiye's Feb. 6 earthquakes, which killed over 50,000 people.