Kamil Pasha

A new law that was approved by parliament’s Budget and Planning Commission and is now up for a vote would ban all alcohol sales via Internet, telephone and fax, with a very large fine between 50 and 250 thousand YTL fine (approximately 40-200 thousand dollars). This is aimed primarily at wine sales, since wine cannot be kept indefinitely and is heavy to transport. People would be more likely to order a case of wine delivered, rather than a single bottle of whiskey.

This law, like higher wine taxes, is clearly aimed at the “White Turks”, westernized urbanites who have a taste for wine, rather than the raki and beer of the populace. Under AKP, taxes on wine have gone through the roof (but are lower on raki and beer). An ordinary bottle of Turkish wine costs between $15 and $30, a bottle of foreign wine that can be had in the US for $15 costs at least $60 in shops. In restaurants, the wine might cost you at least as much as your meal.

This is the sort of creeping conservatism that convinces the “other” half of the population that did NOT vote for AKP that they are not really interested in liberalism and tolerance, but have something else up their sleeve — a slow strangling of their liberal, westernized lifestyle. It is also a shame for Turkey’s wine industry, which has begun producing some good wines, and should receive government support as a promising industry, rather than a further punch in the solar plexus. (click here for commentary in Turkish)

Tags: Politics, Religion //