SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Turkish President Continues 'Vicious Campaign' Against Dissidents
President Tayyip Erdoğan wants the country to redefine its anti-extremism law to include journalists, politicians, and academics
Mar 16, 2016
Representing a further crackdown on free expression in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan said this week he wants the Turkish parliament to redefine the country's anti-extremism law to include journalists, politicians, and academics.
"It is not only the person who pulls the trigger, but those who made that possible who should also be defined as terrorists, regardless of their title," Erdogan said on Monday, one day after a suicide bomb attack in the country's capital of Ankara killed at least 34 people and wounded 125 others.
A legal expert from Turkey's ruling AK Party elaborated to Reuters, saying the government aimed to "broaden the extent" of the anti-terror law.
"A man may not have participated directly in terrorist acts but may have supported them ideologically. This may not be a full terror crime, but a degree of terror crime," the expert said.
Just two days later, three academics who signed a peace petition in January were jailed by an Istanbul court, on suspicion of "making terrorist propaganda."
According to Human Rights Watch, professors Muzaffer Kaya, Esra Mungan, and Kivanc Ersoy were placed in pretrial detention on Wednesday.
The three were among more than 2,000 signatories to a recent petition condemning the Turkish government's security operations against the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) youth movement in cities of southeast Turkey because of the disastrous impact on the Kurdish civilian population, which it describes as a "deliberate and planned massacre." Made public at an Istanbul news conference on January 11, the petition also called for a resumption of peace talks with the PKK.
Since the petition's release, police have detained around 15 academics for short periods and in some cases searched their homes and offices, Human Rights Watch says. An Istanbul prosecutor is conducting a criminal investigation into all Turkish signatories on suspicion that they "made terrorism propaganda" and "insulted the Turkish nation or state institutions," while dozes of other academics have been dismissed or suspended by their universities.
"President Erdogan's vicious campaign against the academics is part of his drive to banish, punish, and silence all critical voices in Turkey," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Turkey's universities, prosecutors, and courts should respect and protect free speech and the rule of law by immediately dropping all investigations and punitive measures against all those who signed the declaration."
Earlier this month, a Turkish court approved a government takeover of Feza Media Group that oversees Zaman, Turkey's most widely circulated newspaper; Cihan, a leading news agency; and Today's Zaman, an English-language daily with international reach.
As Amnesty International's Turkey expert Andrew Gardner said at the time, "By lashing out and seeking to rein in critical voices, President Erdogan's government is steamrolling over human rights."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Representing a further crackdown on free expression in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan said this week he wants the Turkish parliament to redefine the country's anti-extremism law to include journalists, politicians, and academics.
"It is not only the person who pulls the trigger, but those who made that possible who should also be defined as terrorists, regardless of their title," Erdogan said on Monday, one day after a suicide bomb attack in the country's capital of Ankara killed at least 34 people and wounded 125 others.
A legal expert from Turkey's ruling AK Party elaborated to Reuters, saying the government aimed to "broaden the extent" of the anti-terror law.
"A man may not have participated directly in terrorist acts but may have supported them ideologically. This may not be a full terror crime, but a degree of terror crime," the expert said.
Just two days later, three academics who signed a peace petition in January were jailed by an Istanbul court, on suspicion of "making terrorist propaganda."
According to Human Rights Watch, professors Muzaffer Kaya, Esra Mungan, and Kivanc Ersoy were placed in pretrial detention on Wednesday.
The three were among more than 2,000 signatories to a recent petition condemning the Turkish government's security operations against the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) youth movement in cities of southeast Turkey because of the disastrous impact on the Kurdish civilian population, which it describes as a "deliberate and planned massacre." Made public at an Istanbul news conference on January 11, the petition also called for a resumption of peace talks with the PKK.
Since the petition's release, police have detained around 15 academics for short periods and in some cases searched their homes and offices, Human Rights Watch says. An Istanbul prosecutor is conducting a criminal investigation into all Turkish signatories on suspicion that they "made terrorism propaganda" and "insulted the Turkish nation or state institutions," while dozes of other academics have been dismissed or suspended by their universities.
"President Erdogan's vicious campaign against the academics is part of his drive to banish, punish, and silence all critical voices in Turkey," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Turkey's universities, prosecutors, and courts should respect and protect free speech and the rule of law by immediately dropping all investigations and punitive measures against all those who signed the declaration."
Earlier this month, a Turkish court approved a government takeover of Feza Media Group that oversees Zaman, Turkey's most widely circulated newspaper; Cihan, a leading news agency; and Today's Zaman, an English-language daily with international reach.
As Amnesty International's Turkey expert Andrew Gardner said at the time, "By lashing out and seeking to rein in critical voices, President Erdogan's government is steamrolling over human rights."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Representing a further crackdown on free expression in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan said this week he wants the Turkish parliament to redefine the country's anti-extremism law to include journalists, politicians, and academics.
"It is not only the person who pulls the trigger, but those who made that possible who should also be defined as terrorists, regardless of their title," Erdogan said on Monday, one day after a suicide bomb attack in the country's capital of Ankara killed at least 34 people and wounded 125 others.
A legal expert from Turkey's ruling AK Party elaborated to Reuters, saying the government aimed to "broaden the extent" of the anti-terror law.
"A man may not have participated directly in terrorist acts but may have supported them ideologically. This may not be a full terror crime, but a degree of terror crime," the expert said.
Just two days later, three academics who signed a peace petition in January were jailed by an Istanbul court, on suspicion of "making terrorist propaganda."
According to Human Rights Watch, professors Muzaffer Kaya, Esra Mungan, and Kivanc Ersoy were placed in pretrial detention on Wednesday.
The three were among more than 2,000 signatories to a recent petition condemning the Turkish government's security operations against the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) youth movement in cities of southeast Turkey because of the disastrous impact on the Kurdish civilian population, which it describes as a "deliberate and planned massacre." Made public at an Istanbul news conference on January 11, the petition also called for a resumption of peace talks with the PKK.
Since the petition's release, police have detained around 15 academics for short periods and in some cases searched their homes and offices, Human Rights Watch says. An Istanbul prosecutor is conducting a criminal investigation into all Turkish signatories on suspicion that they "made terrorism propaganda" and "insulted the Turkish nation or state institutions," while dozes of other academics have been dismissed or suspended by their universities.
"President Erdogan's vicious campaign against the academics is part of his drive to banish, punish, and silence all critical voices in Turkey," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Turkey's universities, prosecutors, and courts should respect and protect free speech and the rule of law by immediately dropping all investigations and punitive measures against all those who signed the declaration."
Earlier this month, a Turkish court approved a government takeover of Feza Media Group that oversees Zaman, Turkey's most widely circulated newspaper; Cihan, a leading news agency; and Today's Zaman, an English-language daily with international reach.
As Amnesty International's Turkey expert Andrew Gardner said at the time, "By lashing out and seeking to rein in critical voices, President Erdogan's government is steamrolling over human rights."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.