Turkey descends into autocracy
Turkey is said to be the country with one of the highest number of journalists behind bars
S P Seth
Early in this century, Turkey looked like making a healthy transition to democracy. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now Turkey’s president, became the country’s prime minister after his party won a landslide victory in the 2002 parliamentary elections. The economy started to pick up and Turkey was held as a model for other Muslim countries. For once, it seemed that elected democracy in a Muslim country was not antithetical. But events in the last few years have created serious doubts about the health of Turkish democracy, as President Erdogan appears to increasingly believe that democracy in Turkey is essentially synonymous with him and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). This is because his opponents of all shades of opinion are branded either terrorists or supporters of terrorism, as well as plotting a coup against his government, and that with such ‘diabolical’ designs against the country, they don’t deserve any mercy.
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