ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about being elected as mayor of Istanbul in 1994 and the difficulties he overcame after being jailed for eight months in 1998 over a poem he had read out during a rally in a documentary, "Story of a Master Statesman", which revealed his life story and aired on Tuesday.
During the broadcast documentary, Erdogan referred to developments in Turkey by saying, "the mindset revolution is too slow" and adding, "we have made important reforms but the mindset revolution has been lagging behind, the reflection of our reforms on Turkish society has been taking time."
The Turkish Prime Minister spoke about being elected as mayor of Istanbul in 1994 and the difficulties he overcame after being jailed for eight months in 1998 over a poem he had read out during a rally. He provided statesments during an interview with the private TV channel Beyaz TV.
President Abdullah Gul also contributed to the program saying that Erdogan and he had been close friends and political affiliates for 40 years and qualified their friendship by saying it was a friendship for "the sake of love of country and nation."
The program emphasizing Erdogan's humanitarian features also included an animation depicting his days in prison.
Erdogan also confessed by saying "l fell in love with Emine at first sight," referring to his wife of 35 years Emine Erdogan.
Erdogan, who was born in the Kasimpasa neighbourhood of Istanbul in 1954, said that his character was shaped by his father's seriousness.
As the program mainly avoided politics, Erdogan did not speak about the agenda much but he touched upon freedoms in Turkey. Erdogan said that whether head-scarved or not, all people should benefit from opportunities in Turkey, "all freedoms are under their guarantee and there should never be discrimination against anyone in Turkey."
Over two hours long, the live program ended with Erdogan reading out the lyrics of an uplifting song about togetherness and brotherhood that the Prime Minister reads out in front of crowds at almost all his public appearances.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
