Turkey Arrests Editor of Top Newspaper & 30+ Opposition Voices

TheTower.org–In a crackdown against domestic opposition, the Islamist government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrested over 30 people this week, including the editor of the country’s most popular newspaper, as well as other “police officers, journalists and media workers.”

The New York Times reported that “eight other people were on a list of suspects accused of ‘using pressure, intimidation, threats,’ a ‘smear campaign’ and ‘fabrication of evidence’ to claim the power of state as members of an illegal organization, the semiofficial press agency Anadolu reported. Mr. Erdogan has said that the organization’s members are part of a parallel structure within the state that is intended by the cleric, Fethullah Gulen [who lives in Saylorsburg, PA], to oust him from power.

Some members of the news media were also charged with “fabricating charges and evidence’ in their productions to support a 2009 investigation, eventually dropped by prosecutors, that accused a group of people of being radical Islamists,” the report said.

This is just the latest assault on a free press by Erdogan’s government. Earlier this year, Turkey was rated “not free” by Freedom House on account of its previous crackdowns on the media. The government has fired or re-assigned hundreds of police officers who were deemed to be linked to Gulen. Last year, the Erdogan government asserted fuller control of the military. In October, the government granted itself sweeping powers, including greater control over the judiciary.

Mahir Zeynalov, a journalist who was deported from Turkey earlier this year for tweeting criticisms of the government, has been covering the crackdown on Twitter.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn released a joint statement calling the mass arrests “incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core principle of democracy,” to which Erdogan responded that “[the] EU should mind its own business.” Turkish authorities accused the arrested reporters, which included top journalists, media executives, and television scriptwriters, of backing Gulen, whose supporters have been locked in open political warfare with Erdogan’s Justice and Development (AKP) Party since a December 2013 graft probe by judicial and police officials linked to the cleric targeted top figures in the Islamist party, including Erdogan and members of his family. In the past year, pushback against Gulenists has involved, among other things, the purge of literally thousands of judges, police officers, and others deemed by the AKP to be opponents. Freedom House, an NGO that monitors press and other freedoms around the world, in 2014 assigned Turkey a “not free” rating, slamming Ankara for imprisoning more journalists than any other country in the world for the second year in a row. The Freedom House report noted that Turkish government officials “used the financial and other leverage it holds over media owners to influence press coverage of politically sensitive issues.”

Arab analysts believe Turkey is on its way to a popular revolution and a “Turkish spring.” Protests are increasing against the rule of Erdogan, especially in light of new corruption scandals.

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated over the last few days against low wages and rising prices, while the president is defending living in a deluxe new palace amid widespread public opposition. In addition, thousands of Turks protested against the policies of the Ministry of Education, which recently sharpened the religious character of the school curriculum. Opposition officials and education experts blamed the Turkish government’s perceived attempt to Islamize the country’s education system and produce extreme generations that will be fertile ground for terrorist organizations.

Arab analysts do not believe Erdogan will address the protests against him. According to them, the Arab Spring will spread into Turkey in the shape of a “Turkish spring” against Erdogan’s policies, which have already deepened the country’s social and economic crises and left it isolated. “We do not exclude the possibility of an approaching Turkish spring,” said one Arabic commentator.

The Turkish media is increasingly using the word “Sultan” to describe Erdogan, following construction of his new palace in Ankara. Opposition officials believe it is not a just a waste of public money, but also a sign that the country is heading towards dictatorship.