Translation of the popular German comedian satirist
Jan Boehmermann's Poem about the Turkish President, Erdogan.

Background:
Is it satire or defamation? I was curious to read the
actual poem that comedian Jan Boehmermann read on his
popular satirical TV show about the Turkish President,
Erdogan, that caused such an uproar. The TV video has been
removed, by demand of Erdogan. Erdogan was so insulted he
demanded of Angela Merkel that Boehmermann be prosecuted
under the obscure German penal code of 1871, lèse-majesté –
for slandering a foreign head of state. She decided to
allow this, which is in process. By doing so, she risks
being seen as the puppet of Turkey’s strongman leader and a
weak guardian of free speech. By not doing so she gives
Turkey a reason to cancel the refugee swap deal with the
EU, which has recently eased political pressure on the
German chancellor. Boehmermann made it clear in his intro
that what he was doing was satire, and intentionally
pushing the limits of German law about satire, so it will
be interesting to see what happens. The penalty is up to
three years in jail and a fine. Part of what Boehmermann
was doing was confronting Erdogan's recent strong arm moves
to suppress freedom of the press and freedom of opinion and
speech.

~R.

The following is from: http://www.dw.com/en/opinion-böhmermanns-anti-erdogan-poem-is-satire-and-germany-should-bear-it/a-19178553

Is it satire or defamation? There's no question about the
tastelessness of the poem. Nevertheless, it's clearly a
piece of satire. What else would it be?

Satire is an artistic genre that aims to polarize and
criticize individuals or situations by means of derision,
irony and exaggeration. Yes, sometimes it may make us choke
on our own chuckle. And the show really did make me laugh -
not the poem itself, which I found quite tasteless, but the
entire skit. Not only was it cleverly and originally
composed and executed, but it managed to spark an important
social discourse on the boundaries of satire.

It was a well planned provocation that unfolded just as the
show's creators intended. Cologne-based media attorney
Markus Kompa told DW that Böhmermann's poem was a
"calculated breach of the law," and I think it's an
ingenious satirical media coup.

The anti-Erdogan poem has to be seen in context. It
references a song, recently broadcast in the ARD program
"Extra3," that attacks Turkey's excessive censorship and
repression of freedom of speech in the country. Although
the "Extra3" piece was indisputably a work of permissible
satire, Erdogan called in the German ambassador and
demanded that the video be erased.

Over a week later, the German government issued a public
statement defending freedom of speech in Germany.

How far can satire go in Germany?

The Böhmermann video ingeniously and cryptically takes it
one step further - with such absurdly exaggerated insults
that even the harshest Erdogan critics can't take any of
them at face value.

Despite the obviously offensive statements in the video, it
does not intentionally defame the president - which would
indeed require legal action. Instead, it satirically
criticizes Erdogan's dictatorial approach to freedom of the
press and freedom of opinion and takes him to task for trying
to torpedo these freedoms in Germany - as in the case of the
"Extra3" song.

That's precisely what makes Böhmermann's video dyed-in-
the-wool satire. It's not only of didactic value in defining
the boundaries of satire (and could actually be used in
educating journalists and lawyers). It also shows how
powerful satire can be when it pokes a finger in social and
political wounds.

Enduring the pain is what characterizes a democratic society.

----------------------------

At the end of the above article is a reader (Gordon Niemann)
comment that translates Boehmermanns poem about the Turkish
President, Erdogan. He says while it is not 100% accurate, it
does rhyme, and should give us the basic idea.

-----------------------------------------------
HERE IS THE POEM:

Retarded, cowardice, and full of hate
That, my friends, is Erdogan, Turkish Head of State
His dick smells of expired food
Even a pig’s fart is more subdued
Hitting girls is his proudest task
While gladly wearing a black rubber mask
He loves to stick his cock in sheep
He silences crowds, but does not hear a “beep”
Kurds and Christians, both battered and torn
He sits up high, watching kiddie porn
And even at night, he does not sleep
Instead, he enjoys fellatio with 100 sheep
This is Erdogan, proud and strong
A president with a tiny dong
All the Turks, you hear them say
Erdogan’s dick is ripe with decay
From Ankara to Istanbul, all night and all day
cheap, perverted and extremely gay
Everyone knows he is a zoophile
Recep, Fritzl, Priklopil
An empty head, a dick shaped like a boomerang
He is the star at every Gang Bang
Pain in his cock, and balls in hand
That, my friends, is Recep Erdogan – the Turkish President

[This was sent to me by a friend living near Kansas City, MO]