A platform endorsing freedom of thought in Turkey has published a declaration claiming that the kind of events that are currently taking place and pushing Turkey to the brink of disaster will become commonplace if President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s dream of an executive-style presidency is realized.
Erdoğan is the staunchest supporter of the establishment of a “Turkish-style” presidential system to replace the current parliamentary system of governance and has emphasized the superiority of the former over the latter many times in the past.
The Ankara Freedom of Thought Initiative published a manifesto on Monday listing seven areas in which Turkey is being pushed towards disaster, such as the targeting of private enterprise by the government and appointing trustees to firms whose owners are deemed dissidents.
For example, on Dec.14, 2014 a government-orchestrated police raid on the Zaman daily and Samanyolu Broadcasting Company headquarters led to the detention of former Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı and Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca.
Zaman and Samanyolu are among the media outlets that have been critical of the government for alleged corruption since two major graft probes went public in December 2013, which incriminated high-ranking members of the government, including then-Cabinet ministers.
While Dumanlı was released pending trial five days later, on Dec. 19, 2014, Karaca has been in prison for over a year without any solid evidence against him.
Also, on Oct. 27, 2015 a government-initiated operation was conducted to seize Koza İpek Holding and appoint trustees to take over the management of its companies. Police raided the İpek Media Group’s headquarters in İstanbul on Oct. 28 and took the Kanaltürk and Bugün TV channels and the Kanaltürk radio station off the air. The group also owns the Bugün and Millet dailies.
The declaration also suggests that journalists critical of Erdoğan and the government are being pressured through investigations into their articles, wiretapping of their phones, accusations of disseminating terrorist propaganda and espionage, and detentions.
It also points to Erdoğan’s recent comments directed at the Constitutional Court for releasing the Cumhuriyet daily’s Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar and the paper’s Ankara Bureau Chief Erdem Gül from pre-trial detention. Erdoğan said on Sunday before a trip to Africa that he did not respect the ruling, nor would he obey it.
Dündar and Gül were arrested on Nov. 26, 2015 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, espionage and revealing confidential documents — charges that could keep them in prison for life.
The charges stem from a terrorism investigation launched after Cumhuriyet published photos in May of that year of weapons it said were being transferred to Syria in trucks operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
The daily’s headline story in May discredited the government and Erdoğan’s earlier claims that the trucks were carrying humanitarian aid to Turkmens. The article showed footage and stills of the search of the MİT trucks, which were revealed to be carrying heavy munitions.
Speaking to a room full of teachers marking the occasion of Teacher’s Day in November, Erdoğan said: “You know of the treason regarding the MİT trucks, don’t you? So what if there were weapons in them? I believe that our people will not forgive those who sabotaged this support.”
The initiative also slammed Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Syria policy, claiming that political elites are using the civil war there to gain points in domestic politics.
Turkey has wanted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad removed from power ever since an uprising that started in the spring of 2011 turned into a full-fledged civil war.
The declaration has been signed by numerous academics and individuals, including Ankara University’s faculty of political science Professor Baskın Oran and Today’s Zaman former Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş.
The signatories:
Abut Can
Adnan Genç
Ahmet Hulusi Kırım
Ahmet İsvan
Altan Açıkdilli
Attila Tuygan
Aydın Engin
Ayten Bakır
Aziz Tunç
Baskın Oran
Bora Kılıç
Bozkurt Kemal Yücel
Bülent Keneş
Bülent Tekin
Celal Başlangıç
Cengiz Aktar
Derya Yetişgen
Doğan Özgüden
Eflan Topaloğlu
Erdal Yıldırım
Erol Özkoray
Ezeli Doğanay
Fatin Kanat
Fatma Dikmen
Fikret Başkaya
Fusun Erdoğan
Gül Gökbulut
Gün Zileli
Güngör Şenkal
Habib Taşkın
Haldun Açıksözlü
Halil Savda
Hasan Cemal
Hasan Kaya
Hasan Oğuz,
Hasan Zeydan
İbrahim Seven
İnci Özgüden
İshak Kocabıyık
İsmail Cem Özkan
Kadir Cangızbay
Kenan Yenice
Mahmut Konuk
Mehmet Demirok
Meral Saraç Seven
Murad Mıhçı
Mustafa Yetişgen
Metin Gülbay
Muzaffer Erdoğdu
Nadya Uygun
Oya Baydar
Özcan Soysal
Pınar Ömeroğlu
Rabia Mine
Raffi A. Hermonn
Ramazan Gezgin
Rıdvan Bilek,
Sait Çetinoğlu
Serdar Koçman
Shabo Boyacı
Şaban İba
Şanar Yurdatapan
Şoreş Taş
Temel İskit
Tolga Kaya
Ünal Ünsal
Yasin Yetişgen
Yavuz Baydar
Zeynep Tanbay
[Cihan/Today’s Zaman]
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