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 Erdo\u011fan’s dream of an executive-style presidency is realized.
\nErdo\u011fan is the staunchest supporter of the establishment of a \u201cTurkish-style\u201d 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.
\nThe 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.
\nFor 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 Dumanl\u0131 and Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca.
\nZaman 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.
\nWhile Dumanl\u0131 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.
\nAlso, on Oct. 27, 2015 a government-initiated operation was conducted to seize Koza \u0130pek Holding and appoint trustees to take over the management of its companies. Police raided the \u0130pek Media Group’s headquarters in \u0130stanbul on Oct. 28 and took the Kanalt\u00fcrk and Bug\u00fcn TV channels and the Kanalt\u00fcrk radio station off the air. The group also owns the Bug\u00fcn and Millet dailies.
\nThe declaration also suggests that journalists critical of Erdo\u011fan and the government are being pressured through investigations into their articles, wiretapping of their phones, accusations of disseminating terrorist propaganda and espionage, and detentions.
\nIt also points to Erdo\u011fan’s recent comments directed at the Constitutional Court for releasing the Cumhuriyet daily’s Editor-in-Chief Can D\u00fcndar and the paper’s Ankara Bureau Chief Erdem G\u00fcl from pre-trial detention. Erdo\u011fan said on Sunday before a trip to Africa that he did not respect the ruling, nor would he obey it.
\nD\u00fcndar and G\u00fcl 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.
\nThe 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 (M\u0130T).
\nThe daily’s headline story in May discredited the government and Erdo\u011fan’s earlier claims that the trucks were carrying humanitarian aid to Turkmens. The article showed footage and stills of the search of the M\u0130T trucks, which were revealed to be carrying heavy munitions.
\nSpeaking to a room full of teachers marking the occasion of Teacher’s Day in November, Erdo\u011fan said: \u201cYou know of the treason regarding the M\u0130T 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.\u201d
\nThe initiative also slammed Erdo\u011fan 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.
\nTurkey 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.
\nThe declaration has been signed by numerous academics and individuals, including Ankara University’s faculty of political science Professor Bask\u0131n Oran and Today’s Zaman former Editor-in-Chief B\u00fclent Kene\u015f.
\nThe signatories:
\nAbut Can
\nAdnan Gen\u00e7
\nAhmet Hulusi K\u0131r\u0131m
\nAhmet \u0130svan
\nAltan A\u00e7\u0131kdilli
\nAttila Tuygan
\nAyd\u0131n Engin
\nAyten Bak\u0131r
\nAziz Tun\u00e7
\nBask\u0131n Oran
\nBora K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7
\nBozkurt Kemal Y\u00fccel
\nB\u00fclent Kene\u015f
\nB\u00fclent Tekin
\nCelal Ba\u015flang\u0131\u00e7
\nCengiz Aktar
\nDerya Yeti\u015fgen
\nDo\u011fan \u00d6zg\u00fcden
\nEflan Topalo\u011flu
\nErdal Y\u0131ld\u0131r\u0131m
\nErol \u00d6zkoray
\nEzeli Do\u011fanay
\nFatin Kanat
\nFatma Dikmen
\nFikret Ba\u015fkaya
\nFusun Erdo\u011fan
\nG\u00fcl G\u00f6kbulut
\nG\u00fcn Zileli
\nG\u00fcng\u00f6r \u015eenkal
\nHabib Ta\u015fk\u0131n
\nHaldun A\u00e7\u0131ks\u00f6zl\u00fc
\nHalil Savda
\nHasan Cemal
\nHasan Kaya
\nHasan O\u011fuz,
\nHasan Zeydan
\n\u0130brahim Seven
\n\u0130nci \u00d6zg\u00fcden
\n\u0130shak Kocab\u0131y\u0131k
\n\u0130smail Cem \u00d6zkan
\nKadir Cang\u0131zbay
\nKenan Yenice
\nMahmut Konuk
\nMehmet Demirok
\nMeral Sara\u00e7 Seven
\nMurad M\u0131h\u00e7\u0131
\nMustafa Yeti\u015fgen
\nMetin G\u00fclbay
\nMuzaffer Erdo\u011fdu
\nNadya Uygun
\nOya Baydar
\n\u00d6zcan Soysal
\nP\u0131nar \u00d6mero\u011flu
\nRabia Mine
\nRaffi A. Hermonn
\nRamazan Gezgin
\nR\u0131dvan Bilek,
\nSait \u00c7etino\u011flu
\nSerdar Ko\u00e7man
\nShabo Boyac\u0131
\n\u015eaban \u0130ba
\n\u015eanar Yurdatapan
\n\u015eore\u015f Ta\u015f
\nTemel \u0130skit
\nTolga Kaya
\n\u00dcnal \u00dcnsal
\nYasin Yeti\u015fgen
\nYavuz Baydar
\nZeynep Tanbay<\/p>\n
[Cihan\/Today’s Zaman]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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