Turkey continues its plunge into authoritarianism under President Tayyip Erdogan. So as to leave no doubt about his tyrannical aspirations, our close ally Erdogan is seeking to change the definition of a terrorist to include anyone he deems to be “supporters” of opponents or listed groups, including members of parliament, civil liberties activists and of course journalists. In in a televised speech this week he declared “democracy,, freedom, and the rule of law have absolutely no value any longer.”
We have followed the rapid decline of civil liberties under the authoritarian rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the past few years as well as his empowering of Islamic parties in the once secular state. This trend was evident recently with the rounding up of dozens of professors for simply signing a petition denouncing military operations against Kurds in the south-east of the country. Recently, his government has announced that it will seek life sentences for two journalists who reported on the gun smuggling operations of Turkey to Syria.
It is not clear if he is saying democracy is dead due to his opponents or just acknowledging his systemic destructions of any semblance of democracy in Turkey. However, he notably added “Those who stand on our side in the fight against terrorism are our friend. Those on the opposite side, are our enemy.”
His priority appears to be to criminalize political opposition, particularly the opposition HDP, which opposes the war against the Kurds. He insisted “I no longer see as legitimate political actors the members of a party which is operating as a branch of the terrorist organization.” Erdogan wants Parliament to assist him in targeting opposition MPs from the Kurdish-dominated southeast. Of course, this is the same man who swore that, while he was tearing down the secular traditions of the country to introduce Islamic parties and values, he would scrupulously honor civil liberties and free speech.
Once again, the United States continues to support Turkey and assist the Erdogan regime in beefing up its military.
Source: Independent
Captain my captain…the only difference btw you and me is jesss…i will take any tortur for her….if thAts what you want and need. But you don’t know who you screw with. She is divine. Not a milk carton kid. But if that’$ the war the madi wants….lets do it….but thats not his war…so lay off.. Why did i know w h at i kn e w? How did h e know w g at he knew? Peons aren’t the problem
The stamp collection and black bag do little good…..how long i been telling you? How long? And now this long later….i am suppose to get out alive? How much will he poison me? You better be there. You better be. I dont want to be in the book but i want a life after this and you better. Be there, my patience.
……i probably cant do more.im spent. Cu. 8888
Nothing. Cant mean much. Maybe if we had a country to save it could. No matter the commies are already incharchge. A
Qth.
Nothing.
AppEarently i a banned. Turley must know what lajes86 means
Umm i read tbe ndaa….how is he different? Oh because ge doesn’t plant fema ppl he’s differrent? You want me to cry for them…..and pretend we dont have the same damn thing.
Thanks for the note on the Netflix Paul. I would find that interesting. There has been a lot of good discussion under this topic. Some very good points by all. After some of the enlightening comments above, I have a new point of view on Edrogan’s position. Still not convinced of his true intentions, but it is evident he is sitting on a simmering cauldron of possible anarchy. I understand what Gary is saying, but I do not necessarily agree. I feel what seems like crazies taking over countries is actually a new discovery of national identity. Liberalism is being rejected worldwide. Globalism is being rejected. Putin has been labeled an enemy because he won’t fall in line with Washington, but he is wildly popular at home. I am no big fan of Trump, but, at this point, he is the front edge of change. It is starting with him, and I don’t think it will end with him, but it is, indeed starting. Every negative soundbite that is released about him by the press only seems to strengthen his position. I believe it is a sign that people have become weary and tired of the press as much or more than how they feel about Trump. And it’s about time. The press overall has been a large part of the disassembling and division of our country. I don’t feel good at all about Obama assuming responsibility of anything. Once he’s gone, he needs to be on the golf course. He has shown his disrespect and contempt for others below him nearly to the point of Hillary (OK, that may be stretching that a bit…) I also think the sooner we get out of the foreign aid game, the better we all will be. Don’t see that happening though. I hope that all made sense.
Considering Erdogan’s comments sound like they are out of The Onion, but they’re not, and the political world seems to be getting crazier and crazier, the idea that President Obama just might keep the codes for safekeeping does not seem so far-fetched. So many world leaders, or potential world leaders, are going nuts, why not him?
Some people took A Modest Proposal seriously, too, and were horrified.
Paul – You’re nuts, for sure, but that doesn’t mean what you have to say isn’t interesting. But for goodness sake! The tell is right there in the web address:
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/obama-plans-to-take-nuclear-launch-codes-with-him-when-he-leaves-office
I.E., “/humor/”, right after the “http://www.newyorker.com”.
Smart crazies are interesting; dumb crazies are just pathetic.
Carry on!
Yes, indeed.
How very clever of you, Paul.
Look! Paul has linked to Borowitz. Good Job, Paul!
SoloSoho – no sense of humour?
@GaryT
That won’t happen here. Every American is too preoccupied with their own lives. They watch the latest Kim KarTrashian, watch CNN nees, and believe everything that comes out of a snake’s hissing mouth when they present false promises over and over again. We demand change and no reforms are quickly coming. By the way, the US Constitution forbids insurrection. To do so is to make oneself an enemy of the State.
So V’s message is spot on but we’ll never remember a November 5th until it’s too late.
Love that movie btw.
Poor Paul.
Too much Daily Mail. Not enough New Yorker.
The joke’s on Paul!
SoloSoho – isn’t this the New Yorker?
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/obama-plans-to-take-nuclear-launch-codes-with-him-when-he-leaves-office
Turkey facilitates mass migrant invasion and what do they get. Deals with the EU. NATO ie AMERICA is pushing Turkey on Europe. Europe needs to stop following Washington’s dictates. And kick Turkey out of the EU.
https://youtu.be/KKvvOFIHs4k?t=1m5s
And we are giving Turkey aid?
But why.
And Turkey is a member of NATO, and wants to be member of the EU?
But why again?
Turkey is flirting with both fascism and Sharia law, how can those rather now blatant expositions be consistent with even the most authoritarian Western democracies?
Of course we need to stop aid, because it is only aiding that fascism, and empowering the misery of its citizens.
Seems like authoritarianism is breaking out all over, our own Donald Trump is a perfect drop-in replacement for an Americanized Mussolini. France has gone all statist. England is rapidly approaching the scenario in V For Vendetta. After winning the internal conflicts against Communism, Russia now has its own strongman dictator. Even milquetoast Canada is flirting with its ant-free speech laws.
I would like to think that at least in America, there is a spirited pushback on many levels against this trend, at least we have the Constitution to cite and point to, whether or not it is effective anymore.
The entropic pressure to control and milk the populace is strong with every nation, and tends to drift in that directions if left to its own devices. Such nations should be shunned by other nations, and every nation that does that needs to be internally reminded of the ideals they are founded upon.
Gary T – the President of the US declared today that after leaving office he will be taking the nuclear codes with him. He is going to take “the football” when he leaves office. Actually for a constitutional lawyer that is a very unconstitutional statement. The football goes with the President. When he is not President, the football switches to the new President and he has no say in it. I think Obama is losing his grip.
But Nick
President Trump is going to need those Turkish bases in order to protect the Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, and to bomb the hell out of Iran!