Erdogan: "Good publicity for the cats!"

In an exclusive interview with Hürriyet, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked for the first time on the current controversy surrounding his suing a group of cartoonists who depicted him as a variety of animals on the cover the weekly comic paper, Penguen. Erdoðan's action caused a remarkable stir in the media - with many columnists and journalists lending their support to the cartoonists.
The initial incident, which prompted the Penguen cover, was a drawing by the acclaimed Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart. Kart had depicted Erdoðan as a cat entangled in a ball of yarn - a nod to the prime mister's hard times on the issue of religious schools known as "imam hitap" colleges.
Erdogan sued Kart and won YTL 5000 in compensation.
"I did not mind myself being depicted as a cat," said Erdogan, talking to Fatih Altayli in Kizilcahamam, where his governing party was having a political camp. "I was offended by the way I was presented in handling the whole issue of "imam hatip"s - as if I had caused more harm than good."
Erdogan stated that he was aware of the new lawsuit and revealed that he has plans to further discuss the situation with his lawyers, before jokingly adding that the debate has proven out to be "good publicity for the cats."