A harsh polemic between Erdogan and Auster was erupted

Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hit back at famous American writer Paul Auster who was quoted as saying that he would not visit the country to protest its jailing of journalists and writers.

"AS IF WE NEED YOU!, WHO CARES.."
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday: "As if we need you! Who cares if you come or not? Would Turkey lose any grandeur?"

Erdogan called Auster 'ignorant' for choosing to visit Israel while criticizing limits on free press in Turkey.

"WHAT AN IGNORANT MAN YOU ARE"

'Supposedly Israel is a democratic, secular country'
"Supposedly Israel is a democratic, secular country, a country where freedom of expression and individual rights and freedoms are limitless. What an ignorant man you are," Erdogan said, adding: "This gentleman can't see the repression and rights violations in Israel... This is serious disrespect to Turkey."

AUSTER: "FREE SPEECH EXISTS ISRAEL AND NO WRITERS OR JOURNALIST ARE IN JAIL"
In a statement released on Wednesday and published in the New York Times' Arts Beat blog, the American author defended his decision to stay away from Turkey, saying that whatever "the Prime Minister might think about the state of Israel, the fact is that free speech exists there and no writers or journalists are in jail."