Ataturk would probably be rolling over in his grave if he knew what was happening in Turkey these days.
Turkey's Forthcoming Elections
A briefing by Burak Bekdil
March 7, 2014
Mr. Bekdil, a Turkish columnist for the Ankara-based Hurriyet Daily News and critic of Prime Minister Erdoğan's authoritarian rule, served a suspended prison sentence in 2001 for satirizing corruption in the judiciary. His articles have appeared in The Economist, National Review Online, The Jerusalem Post, Al-Arabiya, Le Figaro, BBC, and The Washington Times. Mr. Bekdil briefed the Middle East Forum in a conference call on March 7, 2014.
Having consolidated his power base, tamed the military, suppressed the media, and placated the restive Kurdish minority, Prime Minister Erdoğan moved to advance his Islamist agenda and raise a generation of devout Muslims at the expense of Turkey's constitutional freedoms. In doing so, however, he underestimated the extent of public resentment of his increasingly autocratic rule. Last spring's Gezi Park anti-government protests and the current, ongoing probe of his administration have confronted Erdoğan with the most formidable challenge since 2002 and forced him to rethink his grand political design.
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Turkey's Forthcoming Elections :: Middle East Forum
Turkey's Forthcoming Elections
A briefing by Burak Bekdil
March 7, 2014
Mr. Bekdil, a Turkish columnist for the Ankara-based Hurriyet Daily News and critic of Prime Minister Erdoğan's authoritarian rule, served a suspended prison sentence in 2001 for satirizing corruption in the judiciary. His articles have appeared in The Economist, National Review Online, The Jerusalem Post, Al-Arabiya, Le Figaro, BBC, and The Washington Times. Mr. Bekdil briefed the Middle East Forum in a conference call on March 7, 2014.
Having consolidated his power base, tamed the military, suppressed the media, and placated the restive Kurdish minority, Prime Minister Erdoğan moved to advance his Islamist agenda and raise a generation of devout Muslims at the expense of Turkey's constitutional freedoms. In doing so, however, he underestimated the extent of public resentment of his increasingly autocratic rule. Last spring's Gezi Park anti-government protests and the current, ongoing probe of his administration have confronted Erdoğan with the most formidable challenge since 2002 and forced him to rethink his grand political design.
Continue reading at:
Turkey's Forthcoming Elections :: Middle East Forum