Chair of union detained for saying people in Turkey "stupid" because they feed on bread

Chair of union detained for saying people in Turkey "stupid" because they feed on bread
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Update: 08 November 2022 21:36
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Cihan Kolivar has been taken into custody after ruling party spokesperson accused him on Twitter of "insulting the nation and the bread."

The chair of the Union of Bread Bakery Owners was detained in Turkey over his remarks about bread being the basic source of nutrition in societies of lower intelligence, a couple of hours after the spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) accused him publicly of "insulting the nation and the bread."

The union chair Cihan Kolivar had said in a TV broadcast:

"Bread is the basic source of nutrition in societies of lower intelligence (...) The average consumption per person in our country is 210 kg while it is 50 kg in Sweden, Norway and Japan. We have the same political administration for 20 years because our people feed on bread."

Omer Celik, the spokesperson for AKP, had said in response:

"The remarks by the Union of Bread Bakery Owners chair Cihan Kolivar constitute hatred speech. These remarks that insult our Nation and the bread are off limits. His other remarks, besides the ones that insult our nation and the bread, are also an indication that he is an element of the policies of hostility, and those remarks also signify a policy of hatred."