Why Turkey must say No to Erdogan
Deniz Karaman
A Yes vote in next week’s constitutional referendum would destroy Turkish democracy.
While, in recent decades, the Middle East has been characterised by a surge in instability and authoritarianism, Turkey has been regarded as one of the free, democratic exceptions. At the turn of the century, Turkey began its accession process with the EU, beginning a liberalising trend with the aim of moving towards full membership. The Turkish parliament passed laws which strengthened freedom of expression, ended the death penalty, and finally recognised the Kurds as a legitimate ethnic group, allowing them to speak and broadcast in their dialects without facing persecution.
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