Middle East Eye | Turkey's future: Cracks appear in Erdogan's heartland Middle East Eye CANKIRI, Turkey There are few posters supporting the referendum campaign of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the streets of this central Anatolian town. Cankiri is the sort of place where parks are named after Erdogan and rabia, the four-fingered ... |
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Turkey's future: Cracks appear in Erdogan's heartland - Middle East Eye
Supporters of Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wave and cheer at a rally in Istanbul. Photograph: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images
Emine Altinbas had come all the way to Ankara from the northern Turkish city of Amasya, 165 miles away, for a political rally. In the warmth of the afternoon, she listened as the prime minister urged her and other supporters to vote yes in a referendum that would transform the country into a presidential republic.
But Altinbas needed no convincing. In a fortnight she will back Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan , and the package of reforms that could keep him in power until 2029. Why? Because, she said, she trusted Erdoan to do the right thing.
Hes sincere towards the people, she said. What he says is true, he does not lie, and what the people want is what happens. The opposition, she said, was in disarray and bent on dividing the country instead of uniting it under strong leadership that would promote progress. Until the end Im going to say yes.
Thousands of supporters of the Justice and Development party (AKP) turned out to witness the launch of the yes (evet in Turkish) campaign in the suburb of Kahramankazan, north-west of the Turkish capital in late February. On 16 April, many will cast their votes in a referendum on constitutional changes that will mark a turning point in the 93-year-old Turkish republic.
The choice of venue was no coincidence. Home to the Aknc airbase, close to where seven civilians gave up their lives resisting the attempted military coup last July, the suburb of Kazan has been renamed, prefixed with kahraman, the Turkish word for hero.
The coup attempt still has the capacity to inflame great emotion. Inside the stadium, when videos from the night of the putsch were shown, a great roar of disapproval and anger emanated from the crowd.
The periods of coups shall be over, Binali Yldrm, the prime minister and head of the AKP, told the crowd. The economy will be stronger, growth will accelerate, there will be new jobs, we will cut the red tape, and the new system will eradicate terrorism.
Outside there was a festive atmosphere as supporters flocked to the stadium in their thousands, chanting Erdoans name. Street vendors hawked T-shirts bearing his image, and banners proclaimed Yes with all my heart and Our strong country, our decision is yes.
The referendum has polarised Turkey, still reeling from the traumatic coup attempt and repeated terror attacks by Islamic State and the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK), a designated terror group fighting an insurgency in the south-east.
Tens of thousands of people have been dismissed or arrested in a multifaceted crackdown that has targeted followers of Fethullah Glen, a US-based preacher whose movement is widely believed to have masterminded the coup, as well as opposition parties, academics and media outlets critical of the government.
Opponents say the constitutional changes, which would allow Erdoan to rule until 2029 and consolidate power in his office, would lead to one-man rule with little oversight by a friendly parliament and a judiciary that would be appointed by him and the ruling party.
But supporters of the yes campaign argue there are enough checks and balances in the amendments, which will revise a constitution imposed under military rule in 1982. They say it will end the fractious politics of coalition governments that have plunged Turkey into recession in the past, and end a longstanding uncertainty in executive authority that has deadlocked administrations.
Emine Nur Gnay, an AKP MP who was at the rally, said the changes would resolve conflicts of power in the executive and promote greater diversity in parliament by allowing younger lawmakers from around the country to run in elections. She pointed out that France, like Turkey, was soon to hold an election under a state of emergency.
Turkeys state of emergency is against terrorists, not the public, she said. Life is going on and the public isnt affected. Turkey endured a lot of terrorist attacks, much more so than Europe, and a lot of innocent people lost their lives.
The white Turks used to be the administrators, but now the people have a say. The elites are no longer in power.
Many among Erdoans grassroots supporters see no problem in giving him more power. These are voters who propelled him to the presidency in 2014 in the first-ever popular presidential election to be held in Turkey. His popularity with them has allowed him to reshape the largely ceremonial position into an influential post by sheer force of personality.
Some have seen their lives improve with the economic reforms of the AKP, and the social benefits they have bestowed on poorer citizens. A common refrain among supporters at campaign rallies is how they no longer need to stand in line to buy expensive medicines, or suffer outside overcrowded hospitals.
Other voters see Erdoans ascent as a vindication of their suffering under decades of secular rule by pro-European elites so-called white Turks when expressions of Islamic values in public life, such as the headscarf, were restricted. They see in him a genuine man of the people who has challenged the political status quo as an outsider, even though his party has been in power for 15 years now and has presided over a break in relations with the EU, a re-igniting of a war with Kurdish insurgents whose ceasefire they had negotiated, and a dramatic uptick in terror attacks. Instead, they see him as a powerful force to combat terrorism in uncertain times.
The disconnect between the condemnatory anti-western rhetoric of the president and the confidence and even elation of his supporters at party rallies is striking. Where the west sees an authoritarian strongman dismantling a democracy, Erdoans supporters see a democratically elected president exerting the will of the people and destroying the agents of a nefarious putsch. Where the west sees a leader with neo-Ottoman imperial ambitions, ordinary Turks who back Erdoan see a man willing to stand up to a morally bankrupt EU and champion the cause of oppressed peoples in the Middle East. Where the west sees a subversion of secularism, his followers see a redemption after decades of oppression under the secular elites, an opportunity to assert their identity as pious Muslims.
He represents us, our thoughts, said one young man in his 20s, from the city of Erzurum, who attended the rally. He wants to abolish a system that went against the people and put in place a new system that will voice our thoughts. There used to be a population called the white Turks, they used to be the administrators, but now the people have a say. The elites are no longer in power.
He scoffed at the suggestion that giving too much power to the president could be bad for democracy: How can he be a dictator if his term is five years and he can only be elected twice?
He has done many things for us, he stood up for us, he faced death for us. We wear our death shrouds for him and stand behind him.
He added: There will be a much stronger Turkey.
Nearby, a woman who did not give her name touched her burgundy headscarf as she stood in the heat of the warm Ankara afternoon. She looked exhausted, having made a 572-mile journey to attend the rally from the eastern city of Van, but she was adamant as she touched her veil.
There is nothing more important than Turkey and hes the only one who can lead this country, she said. Hes the only one we can trust. Because of the headscarf, because of our security, for our Quran and the mosque. He was the only one who supported us, he always stands beside those who were oppressed.
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The hero worship propelling Erdoan to absolute power in Turkey - The Guardian
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Supporters of the Islamist leader carrying Turkish flags attacked and wounded multiple people a stones throw away from the office of the Belgian prime minister and the headquarters buildings of the European Union, according to reports.
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The Kurdish diaspora is largely opposed to increasingErdoans powers, with the authorities serving his administration being accused of using summary execution, rape, and torture against Turkeys Kurdish population by the United Nations.
Supporters of the authoritarian president seem intent on discouraging diaspora Kurds from participating in the referendum.
One of the stabbing victims, an elderly Kurdish woman, said she was pinned down and beaten in the street by a young man who stabbed her in the throat and under her arm.
I was covered in blood, she later said. Like ISIS he had come to behead me.
The authorities in the Netherlands are on high alert after the violence in neighbouring Belgium, according toNRC Handelsblad. Large numbers of Netherlands-based Turkish citizens will be able to cast their votes the De Scheg sports centre in Deventer, with some 30,000 expected to cast ballots.
Hundreds of Turkish migrants rioted in the city of Rotterdam when the Dutch government prevented Turkish government ministers from attending rallies in the country, prompting Ergodan to denigrate the Dutch as Nazi remnants.
While some European countries, such as Sweden, caved in to Turkish pressure and allowed the government to campaign on their territory, other adopted the same position as the Dutch, prompting an angry response.
Im telling you Europe, do you have that courage? If you want, well send the 15,000 refugees to you that we dont send each month and blow your mind, threatened interior minister Sleyman Soylu during the dispute.
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Netherlands on 'High Alert' After Erdogan Supporters Stab Kurdish Voters in Belgium - Breitbart News
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to hold a Brexit-like referendum on whether Ankara should carry on with a process to join the European Union, amid strained relations with its western partners.
READ MORE: Red line must not be crossed: Germanys top judge on Ankara Nazi taunts
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A new vote on the EU accession bid might be organized in Turkey after the April 16 constitutional referendum, which could give Erdogan new powers, the Turkish president announced Saturday.
Speaking at a Turkish-British forum in Turkey, Erdogan said Ankara might review its ties with the bloc, just as the UK did.
"You [Britain] have made a decision with Brexit... We have a referendum on April 16. After this, we may hold a Brexit-like referendum on the [EU] negotiations. No matter what our nation decides, we will obey it," Erdogan said, as quoted by Turkish Anadolu news agency.
He also harshly criticized a rally in Switzerland on Saturday where hundreds of pro-Kurdish supporters gathered in front of the Swiss parliament, carrying anti-Erdogan banners. The Turkish president warned that Europe's "bad manners" were testing his patience.
"It must be known that there is a limit to [Turkey's] patience with the attitude that European countries show us," Erdogan said.
Erdogans comments came a day after he vowed to review his country's political and administrative ties with the bloc, including a deal to curb illegal migration, as reported by Reuters.
READ MORE: You call me dictator, I will keep up Nazi taunts Erdogan
Erdogan has also previously hinted Ankara may reevaluate its relations with the EU if a constitutional referendum granting him additional powers passes on April 16. He said he would have more leverage when negotiating with Brussels on Turkeys accession to the EU, warning that "it will be a different Turkey" then.
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Turkeys bid to join the EU has been stalled for decades, but the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe saw the 28-country bloc strike a deal with Ankara that included promises of visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and the acceleration of Turkeys EU bid. However, while Turkey insisted it has been keeping its side of the deal, stemming the refugee flow from Syria, it pointed out that the EU was not living up to its promises, leading to increasingly disgruntled and threatening rhetoric from Ankara.
The EU demands that Ankara must first meet a list of conditions before the visa-free regime or any further integration can be enacted. The bloc has been critical of the human rights situation in Turkey, which further deteriorated after the failed July 2016 coup. The suppressed coup attempt was followed by tens of thousands of people, ranging from soldiers to teachers, being arrested or fired from their jobs.
Ankara, however, has repeatedly rejected the EUs lecturing on human rights, in turn accusing Europe of violating the rights of Turks, such as in the case of the recent diplomatic spat over pro-Erdogan rallies canceled or prevented in Europe.
FOLLOW TREND: Turkey in political spat with EU countries over referendum rallies
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Erdogan: Turkey may hold Brexit-style referendum on EU ...
A "Yes" campaign billboard showing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on March 29, 2017. Turkey holds a referendum on constitutional amendments on April 16.Chris McGrathGetty Images
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is running out of insults. The Germans, he insists, are "Nazis" and the Dutch are "fascists," all because they blocked Turkish officials from campaigning in their countries for Turkey's upcoming referendum. More than 2 million Turks living in Europe are eligible to participate in the April 16 ballot that will determine whether Turkey should move from a parliamentary to a presidential system, giving Erdogan more power. Austria and Switzerland have also blocked Turkish rallies, angering Erdogan.
The E.U. has responded with caution to Erdogan's attacks, but its leaders might well find it ironic that these slights come from a man who rules under an extended state of emergency. More than 40,000 Turks have been arrested in response to the failed coup attempt in July 2016, and Turkey has become the world's biggest jailer of journalists as Erdogan cracks down on dissent.
Yet the E.U. continues to maintain the fiction that Turkey might one day gain membership to its club. To join, a would-be member must meet requirements in 35 areas, known as chapters. A unanimous vote of every E.U. leader is needed to open a chapter, and another to close it. In almost 18 years of formal candidacy, Turkey and the E.U. have opened 14 chapters. Just one has been closed.
If Turkey became a member, the E.U.'s borders would extend to Syria, Iraq and Iran. It's not hard to see why European voters wouldn't want that. Turkish membership would also allow 80 million Muslims to move freely across E.U. borders. That's hardly the direction European politics is headed.
Nevertheless, talks continue. E.U. officials say they want to encourage reform in Turkey, but there's little chance that Germany, France, Austria or Greece will allow it to join the bloc in the foreseeable future. Knowing this, Erdogan has moved Turkey toward a more autocratic kind of reform. Now the President, eager to impress Turkish voters with his defiance against a perceived global elite, is threatening to break off political ties with the bloc, and possibly abandon the E.U. bid altogether.
That should worry Europe, which has much invested in keeping the status quo. The E.U. is currently paying Turkey large sums to house Middle Eastern migrants rather than passing them along to Europe, with promises of more rapid accession to sweeten the deal.
But the charade that Turkey will one day join the E.U. is becoming increasingly transparent, with populist Islamophobes making inroads across the Continent. Europe's willingness to play this cynical game threatens to isolate further a country that E.U. leaders once hoped to reform.
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Turkey's Erdogan Threatens a Breakup With the E.U.