Turkey Bakery Union Leader Detained For Calling Bread 'The Staple Food For Stupid Societies'

Turkey on Wednesday detained a bakery union head for “publicly insulting the Turkish nation” after he said "stupid" societies eat bread.

What Happened: Criticizing the rising price of bread and Turkey’s soaring inflation, Union for Bread Producers Chairman Cihan Kolivar said, “Bread is the staple food for stupid societies. I speak scientifically, I am not making it up — per capita consumption is 210 kilos in Turkey; and 45-50 kilos in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Japan,” reported Reuters.

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Kolivar made the comments to broadcaster Haberturk on Monday, saying Turkey's fondness for bread explained why the country still has President Tayyip Erdogan‘s government for nearly two decades.

“Since our society eats their fill with bread, such rulers have been ruling it for 20 years,” he said. 

Following Kolivar's comments, an Istanbul court remanded him in custody pending trial on Wednesday. President Erdogan’s ruling AK Party spokesperson Omer Celik said the union leader's remarks constituted hate speech.

“In addition to insulting our nation and bread, this person’s statements show that he is an element of the politics of hostility, the politics of hatred,” Celik said.

Meanwhile, official data showed that Turkey’s annual inflation climbed to a new 24-year high at 85.51 percent in October. The surge started last year as the Turkish lira slumped after the country's central bank began cutting rates as sought by the president. The critics have also blamed Erdogan’s unorthodox monetary policies — which he says are aimed at boosting exports, investment, and jobs — for the country's stumbling economy.

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