Why Would the Duchess Sabotage?
As reported in Turkish news recently, Sarah Ferguson, Britain’s Duchess of York, will be featured in a documentary about Turkish and Romanian orphanages that will air in the United Kingdom. Turkish officials note that the timing of the documentary’s airing is political–the European Union is about to release its report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. The Duchess has denied any political motive, and asserts that her only purpose was to help the welfare of the children in the orphanages.
The timing of the documentary is too coincidental for there not to be any political motivation. The report, which has been speculated to misconstrue facts, comes at a crucial moment for Turkey. The EU’s main concern is with Turkey’s human rights record, but an undercover “expose” about orphanages in rural areas may be neither the most effective nor diplomatic way to address the problem. Turkey has admitted that the orphanage system needs a monumental systematic makeover. But it says that some of the accusations are simply untrue.
Olorunbunmi Hambolu
