Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan quoted a Turkish song during his public speech in Smyrna, where he repeated the line, "I'll throw the Greeks into the sea.”
It is part of a verse from a Turkish folk song from the years of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, which Erdogan repeated in front of his audience ahead of the municipal elections in March.
Smyrna is a traditional stronghold of the opposition, and the Turkish President is hoping to gather their votes, using an extreme, nationalist approach.
In the song, Greeks are described as wicked and "foxes", while the Turks are referred to as "lions".
"The wretched Greek cannot achieve his purposes. They say do not pass, I'll go to Smyrna, I'll throw the Greeks into the sea,” are part of the lyrics to the song.
