Article Scan – January 19th: Turkey, from a democracy to an AKP state
Turkey, from a democracy to an AKP state (Mahir Zeynalov)
We are all aware that Turkey is not even close to a consolidated democracy but its rising profile in the past decade was touted as the best model for Arab nations who attempted to get rid of their leaders. Today, the government is rapidly abandoning every type of democratic reform it had made during its tenure in a bid to save its “regime.”
The term “regime” has a negative connotation when it’s used for a rule of one man or a party. In general, however, “regime” is referred to a system or a set of rules that could also be used for democracies. In Turkey, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is creating its own regime while installing party loyalists within state bureaucracies.
Corruption arrests and raids in mid-December led to the resignation of three ministers and several ruling party lawmakers, badly damaging the country’s already vulnerable economy. The government responded to the corruption allegations by sacking thousands of police officials, bureaucrats ranging from a state banking regulatory body to a state TV, effectively purging everyone who doesn’t hold a “party badge.”
Dispatches: Turkish Government Moves Threaten Judicial Independence (Emma Sinclair-Webb)
When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan goes to Brussels on Tuesday for the first time in five years, top of the agenda for the European Union will be his latest efforts to control the judiciary and appoint government-friendly prosecutors ready to limit or bury corruption allegations.
Proposals over the past week by the Prime Minister’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to increase executive control over judicial institutions and appointments would be a backward step for the rule of law in Turkey, and undermine a core pillar of human rights and democracy – separation of powers and independence of the judiciary. The government wants changes to the Higher Board of Judges and Prosecutors – the body responsible for judicial appointments and disciplinary measures – and tabled a proposal last week that would tie the board closely to the Ministry of Justice and thus the executive.
Attempts to reach a compromise with the main opposition party have so far failed and the government has shunned cooperation with international bodies such as the Venice Commission over the planned changes. Concerns have been rightly raised by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union’s Commissioner for Enlargement.
Russia, Iran set stage for Geneva II; Turkey’s slow turnaround on Syria (Semih Idız)
This week, Turkish President Abdullah Gul called for a “recalibration” of Turkey’s Syria policies in view of the “realties that have emerged on our country’s southern flank,” as reported by Semih Idiz.
Russian and Iranian diplomacy have helped shape the Geneva II agenda to include a cease-fire, humanitarian relief and counterterrorism in Syria.
Gul’s charge was read as a challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is immersed in a corruption scandal, while dealing with Ankara’s failed regional policies. Erdogan and his foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, stuck to the line that no blame for Turkey’s woes falls on them, and that the corruption inquiry is a coup supported by international powers and interests, as Tulin Dalolgu reported.
