Turkey: Ruling a nation through fear
ICC Note:
The recent bid by Turkey’s chief prosecutor to have the Constitutional Court shut down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is the latest manifestation of Turkey’s extremist secular elite’s fear of losing control over the republic. It was a shock for many and the majority of Turks viewed it as a step backward in Turkey’s democratization process and an embarrassment to the country’s image.
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04/05/08 Turkey (Today’s Zaman)–The recent bid by Turkey’s chief prosecutor to have the Constitutional Court shut down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is the latest manifestation of Turkey’s extremist secular elite’s fear of losing control over the republic.
It was a shock for many and the majority of Turks viewed it as a step backward in Turkey’s democratization process and an embarrassment to the country’s image. However, it actually is more of a milestone along the way to a mature, exemplary democracy.
A relatively young democracy, Turkey has come a long way through tumultuous times since its birth in 1923. Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was an unusually insightful leader, reforming his nation by changing its entire trajectory of development toward a goal of modernization and increased civil rights in an era when tyrannical waves were sweeping the world; namely, Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany and later Franco in Spain. Yet, after his death Turkey faced three major military coups and even endured the execution of one prime minister and two ministers by a military junta following a coup in 1960.
While the Turkish military was once the main tool used to interrupt the democratic progress in Turkey, the judicial system has also been targeted for manipulation by Turkey’s extremist secular elite. Without a fully independent legal system, Turkish courts have been used to suppress unwanted ideologies — 26 political parties have been shut down by the same judges since 1954.
