Washington Post on Erdoğan’s purge: Cruel frenzy in march towards authoritarianism


Date posted: June 9, 2017

In an editorial on Friday The Washington Post expressed a glimmer of hope that the United States was returning to its championing of democracy and human rights due to a Wednesday statement by the US State Department in defense of Amnesty International Turkey Chairman Taner Kılıç, who was recently detained on suspicion of links to the faith-based Gülen movement.

“Mr. [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, the Turkish president who was the target of a failed coup last July, has since carried out a wave of arbitrary punishments and imprisonments of thousands of journalists, academics, bureaucrats, lawyers and human rights defenders he suspects of affiliation with Mr. Gulen and his movement. This cruel frenzy is just the latest step in Mr. Erdogan’s march toward authoritarianism in a nation that was once hailed as a model majority-Muslim democracy,” said The Washington Post editorial board.

Kılıç was detained at his home in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Wednesday along with 22 other attorneys for alleged ties to the Gülen movement.

“The United States is deeply concerned by the recent detention of Taner Kiliç, Chair of Amnesty International Turkey — the latest in a series of respected human rights defenders, journalists, academics, and activists detained in Turkey,” US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert had said in a statement on Wednesday.

Underlining that these detentions, often with little evidence or transparency, are an alarming trend, Nauert said: “We are closely following these cases, and underscore the importance of respect for due process and individual rights, as enshrined in the Turkish Constitution and consistent with Turkey’s own international commitments.”

Nauert repeated the US position that “persistent curbs on free speech and other freedoms erode the foundations of democratic society.”

“Turkey benefits from having more engaged voices, not fewer. The detentions of individuals such as Mr. Kilic chill public debate and undermine the quality of democracy.”

The Post said the State Department stopped short of mentioning Erdoğan by name but that it accurately described detentions in Turkey, which are undermining Turkey’s democracy.

“We would add that there are hundreds of other cases worth speaking out about in Turkey as well, including that of French photographer Mathias Depardon, who has been detained  since May for committing acts of journalism while on assignment for National Geographic.”

Depardon, after a month in detention, was released on Friday and deported to France.

Criticizing President Donald Trump for abandoning the US’s championing of democracy and market capitalism by relying on example and promoting these values as superior to the miseries of tyranny, the Post said Trump has “hardly said a word to authoritarian bosses about repression of their people and has made no secret of his affinity for strongmen,” including Erdoğan.

“The United States must not only lead by example, as Mr. Trump suggested on taking office. It must also lead by speaking out forcefully on behalf of people whose rights are shackled in dark corners of the globe,” the editorial board concluded.

According to a report by the state-run Anadolu news agency on May 28, 154,694 individuals have been detained and 50,136 have been jailed due to alleged Gülen links since the failed coup attempt.

Source: Turkish Minute , June 9, 2017


Related News

Turbulent times [in Turkey due to corruption probe]

The arrest of several people close to the government, including three ministers’ sons, accused of taking significant bribes, has shaken the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to the core and plunged Turkey into political uncertainty. Whether it is the case or not — the Gülen movement denies it — the timing of the arrests has created the widespread perception that the investigation is linked to the growing tension between the AKP and the Gülen movement, also known as Hizmet.

Train, equip and persecute?

It’s never easy to find diplomats who speak publicly without beating around the bush and concealing facts, even if they are retired. Exceptions make especially us journalists happy. Former United States Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone is one of them.

Mischief-makers and the Hizmet movement

Mischief-makers continue to work hard. Every objective conscience sees that the Hizmet movement now has to struggle for its rights and to defend itself against some unjust and fallacious accusations, such as that the Hizmet movement has created a parallel state, that it is an illegal organization and that it is even a junta.

Arresting police to make Erdoğan happy

It is no secret that under the direction of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan police officers who conducted graft operations against his close associates have been detained.

Islamic lender raises capital after massive gov’t withdrawal

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya has made a cash capital increase on the back of claims that state-owned companies and institutional depositors have withdrawn millions of Turkish Liras of the bank’s total deposits. The lender said it had decided to make a cash capital increase of 33 percent to 1.2 billion liras ($515 million) and was selling an 18 percent stake in retailer Yeni Mağazacılık (A101) for 298 million liras.

Thunder center Enes Kanter sure looks tiny compared to the world’s tallest man

The two men were at the grand opening Thursday of a new private school, Fulton Science Academy, in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. Kosen was there to discuss his experiences growing up so different from most people.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu continues its aid for Bosnian flood victims

TUSKON event to yield $350 mln in trade with Africa in one day

Turkish teacher dies of cancer, buried in Australia

This notable Pocono resident has been living here in exile since 1999

An American’s journey into a Hizmet school in Turkey

Erdogan critic calls jailing of his mother and brother ‘perverse’ and ‘politically motivated’

Kerry: Turkish President’s Insinuation of US Role in Attempted Coup is ‘Harmful to Our Bilateral Relations’

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News