Democracy Is Coming to Turkey?

Mr. Prime Minister, the Turkey with politically pressured columnists, intimidated hand-holders and beaten-up art gallery attendees is not the "progressive" democratic country you talk about.
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We, the citizens of the Turkish Republic, are repeatedly told that democracy is coming to the country. So why, for almost half of the Turkish population, does it feel exactly the opposite?

On September 12th the Turkish government won a referendum on a package of constitutional changes with 58 percent support. The issue continues to deeply polarize Turkish society.

While the government and media close to the ruling party, AKP, portray the package as a step in the country`s democratisation process, the 42 percent of Turks who voted No -- a number that cannot be brushed aside -- still have suspicions and are genuinely troubled about the party's motives and its authoritarian tendencies.

Even though the package contains certain measures to improve civil rights, controversy rages over its impact on the independence of the judiciary. Opponents of the reform maintain that it will weaken constitutional checks and balances and increase the AKP's clout over the courts.

And indeed, in a short span of time after the vote, several seemingly unrelated incidents have heightened the naysayers' concerns.

Bekir Coskun, who is an iconic opposition figure in Turkey, was fired from his job as a columnist at a mainstream newspaper immediately after the referendum. In the run-up to the vote, he was discouraged from writing, although the paper denied he was going to be laid off. Then, with the referendum over, Coskun indeed lost his job -- and publicly declared he had been let go because of government pressure. He was not the only one. Several other columnists were dismissed after they were critical of the AKP.

In Ankara, after the referendum, a couple of police officers reportedly harassed young couples in a park for being "indecent." The young couples told the press they were simply holding hands or sitting closely to each other and were suddenly scolded by the police and asked for their IDs.

Even as this incident attracted media attention, another disturbing example of publicly enforced morals occurred. Some 30 men armed with knives, batons, broken bottles and pepper spray attacked art galleries in Istanbul during their openings, injuring at least 5 people. According to reports the attackers were disturbed by the fact that guests were drinking alcohol on the pavement. It is still unclear whether the attackers will be brought to justice.

Although on the face of it these three incidents may seem to have little to do with each other, they all point to growing intolerance and less freedom in Turkish society -- just as the referendum's "no" voters feared. They provide precious little evidence that the government and its supporters have really embraced democratic values.

During the referendum campaign Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said he was seeking to make the country a "progressive democracy." Now Mr. Prime Minister, this Turkey of politically pressured columnists, officially intimidated hand-holders and beaten-up art gallery attendees is not the progressive democratic country you were talking about. Or is it?

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