TREADING LIGHTLY

Turkish President Erdogan: I’m Not a Dictator

“I am a mortal really, I could die at any time.”

On the heels of his historic but narrow victory in a constitutional referendum, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday insisted that the reforms do not make him a dictator. “I am a mortal really, I could die at any time,” Erdogan told CNN in his first interview since winning the Sunday’s vote. “The system represents a change, a transformation in the democratic history of Turkey.” But critics have charged that the new rules give Erdogan too much power and allow him to stay in power for too long. Still, Erdogan maintains that his country is still a democracy. “The system represents a change, a transformation in the democratic history of Turkey,” he added. “Here we have a ballot box... the democracy gets its power from the people. It’s what we call national will.”