"Free media will save Turkish democracy
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
SONER ÇAĞAPTAY
Turkey’s experiment with Islamists-turned-democrats might be coming to a tragic end. When the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, rooted in Turkey’s Islamist opposition came to power in Turkey in 2002 and declared itself a democratic movement, nearly everyone gave it the benefit of the doubt. At that time, the party pushed for European Union accession and followed a liberal reform agenda. The party also reached out to non-Islamist constituencies, suggesting a pluralist understanding of democracy and alleviating concerns about its Islamist pedigree."
Free media will save Turkish democracy - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review