Turkey's slide from democracy
Turkey's slide from democracy
by Michael Rubin
National Review Online
[..]On June 20, 2005, Nuri Ok, chief prosecutor of Turkey's supreme court of appeals, challenged the Justice and Development party [AKP]'s bylaws which have enabled Erdogan to exert near dictatorial control over nominations for election candidates. On November 30, after several months of AKP stonewalling and refusal to change the unconstitutional provisions, Ok demanded a formal court censure of the ruling party.
Unfortunately, Erdogan's disdain for the independent judiciary has become the rule rather than the exception. His government has ignored several successive supreme-court rulings in the Kent Bank case which declared illegal the government's seizure and subsequent sale of a political opponent's assets. Frustrated with such court rulings against his government, Erdogan has also moved to reduce the retirement age of judges so that he can replace 4,000 out of 9,000 professional civil servants with AKP party supporters.
While the prime minister once trumpeted his government's willingness to enter the European Union, he has since expressed similar disdain for European courts. After the European Court of Human Rights on November 10 upheld the headscarf ban in Turkish universities, he declared, "It is wrong that those who have no connection to this field [of religion] make such a decision... without consulting Islamic scholars." His statements shocked multiple audiences. Not only did he give reason for European politicians to question his commitment to the European Union accession process but, the suggestion that religious law could trump state law rocked the Turkish establishment.
Erdogan has also launched an assault on the Turkish education system. Illegal Koran schools advertise openly in the Turkish press. Turkish investigative reporters say these unregulated schools' curriculum seldom correlates to the traditional precepts of Islam, but rather embraces the Saudi-funded incitement common in the madrasas of Pakistan. While Turkish society has long respected religious education, Erdogan has unraveled the careful controls which long ensured that purveyors of religious hatred did not brainwash young students.
As his frustration grows with constitutional constraints on his agenda, many Turks say that their prime minister's abuse of power has worsened. On October 14, 2005, Turkish police arrested Professor Yjcel Askin, rector of Yuzuncu Yil University in the eastern Turkish city of Van. Askin is well-known in Turkish academic circles for both antagonism to the PKK and efforts to emphasize the division between secular and religious education. The stated reason for his arrest was a question of a financial irregularity related to the purchase of medical equipment for the university. But the arrest followed months of government harassment. The Turkish police had earlier raided his home to seize illicit antiquities — only to find that he had permits for everything. The government's subsequent decision to hold Askin and other university officers without bail was without precedent. Fifty university presidents protested the government's actions. On November 13, another university officer committed suicide after languishing in prison for three months without a single court hearing, let alone a trial. MORE
Posted by Ted Belman at December 12, 2005 04:29 PM
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1
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Per
said:
Nothing of this should come as a surprise. After all, Erdogan was elected as leader of an Islamist party with an Islamistic programme, not unlike the FIS in Algeria. What else should we expect from the Islamists, than using democracy to suspend democracy? The problem in Turkey and Europe is, unlike Algeria, that nobody has the guts to fight these Islamic cryptofascists.
Posted by: Per on December 12, 2005 04:50 PM
2
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rocky
said:
Turkey cannot become European while carrying its Islamic baggage.
In my eyes, Islam and Europeanness are incompatible.
Posted by: rocky on December 13, 2005 05:22 AM
Turkey's slide from democracy
by Michael Rubin
National Review Online
[..]On June 20, 2005, Nuri Ok, chief prosecutor of Turkey's supreme court of appeals, challenged the Justice and Development party [AKP]'s bylaws which have enabled Erdogan to exert near dictatorial control over nominations for election candidates. On November 30, after several months of AKP stonewalling and refusal to change the unconstitutional provisions, Ok demanded a formal court censure of the ruling party.
Unfortunately, Erdogan's disdain for the independent judiciary has become the rule rather than the exception. His government has ignored several successive supreme-court rulings in the Kent Bank case which declared illegal the government's seizure and subsequent sale of a political opponent's assets. Frustrated with such court rulings against his government, Erdogan has also moved to reduce the retirement age of judges so that he can replace 4,000 out of 9,000 professional civil servants with AKP party supporters.
While the prime minister once trumpeted his government's willingness to enter the European Union, he has since expressed similar disdain for European courts. After the European Court of Human Rights on November 10 upheld the headscarf ban in Turkish universities, he declared, "It is wrong that those who have no connection to this field [of religion] make such a decision... without consulting Islamic scholars." His statements shocked multiple audiences. Not only did he give reason for European politicians to question his commitment to the European Union accession process but, the suggestion that religious law could trump state law rocked the Turkish establishment.
Erdogan has also launched an assault on the Turkish education system. Illegal Koran schools advertise openly in the Turkish press. Turkish investigative reporters say these unregulated schools' curriculum seldom correlates to the traditional precepts of Islam, but rather embraces the Saudi-funded incitement common in the madrasas of Pakistan. While Turkish society has long respected religious education, Erdogan has unraveled the careful controls which long ensured that purveyors of religious hatred did not brainwash young students.
As his frustration grows with constitutional constraints on his agenda, many Turks say that their prime minister's abuse of power has worsened. On October 14, 2005, Turkish police arrested Professor Yjcel Askin, rector of Yuzuncu Yil University in the eastern Turkish city of Van. Askin is well-known in Turkish academic circles for both antagonism to the PKK and efforts to emphasize the division between secular and religious education. The stated reason for his arrest was a question of a financial irregularity related to the purchase of medical equipment for the university. But the arrest followed months of government harassment. The Turkish police had earlier raided his home to seize illicit antiquities — only to find that he had permits for everything. The government's subsequent decision to hold Askin and other university officers without bail was without precedent. Fifty university presidents protested the government's actions. On November 13, another university officer committed suicide after languishing in prison for three months without a single court hearing, let alone a trial. MORE
Posted by Ted Belman at December 12, 2005 04:29 PM