In September 2011, on the heels of the Arab Spring upheaval, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, visited Cairo. In the shadow of the chaos of the Arab Spring, he took the opportunity to point out that “the Turkish state is in its core a state of freedoms and secularism.”
Two and a half years later, Turkey is a radically (literally) different place. Those freedoms have been curtailed and secularism pulled back. Unrest and accusations of corruption persist and the economy teeters on the edge of downturn, yet Erdogan seems more popular than ever. His ruling Justice and Development Party emerged the clear winner in local elections on Mar. 30, 2014, but many opponents and outside observers worry the victory will result in further crackdown on openness and moves toward authoritarian rule.
In the wake of intense protests last summer in Istanbul, 10 people died and dozens more seriously injured as a result of police activity which Erdogan supported. Last December after a police corruption probe targeted key Erdogan supporters, the prime minister dismissed thousands of officers and pushed through new laws to significantly limit judicial authority. When corruption allegations continued online, Erdogan banned social media sites in March 2014. Earlier this month a court ruling restored use of Twitter, but other sites remain off-limits.
Especially concerning is Erdogan’s comments towards the opposition, especially those supportive of the corruption investigation. Asli Aydintasbas, a columnist for a newspaper that had criticized the administration, observed, “Where he could have said any number of embracing or positive things, he chose instead to carry on with the very abrasive rhetoric he’s used throughout the campaign. He effectively said ‘I’m going to punish all of you.’”
These developments should be of great concern to the international community. While perhaps the aggressive moves in Ukraine have drawn the most attention, Turkey’s shift towards a more closed-off, restrictive state could have massive ramifications for stability in the Muslim world. Perhaps the sanctions being contemplated in regards to Putin’s Russia should be applied to Erdogan’s Turkey too, if further undemocratic behavior continues.
In its political and economic development, Turkey has made great strides while preserving freedom and secularism. It is up to the free people of the world to make sure those strides are not reversed. Backsliding must not be accepted — there is too much at stake.
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