The Turkish parliament on Thursday approved what both international and Turkish media described as a “controversial” new law widening the powers of the country’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT), a move that was widely read against the backdrop of ongoing efforts by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to blunt public discussion of a graft scandal that has ensnared top AKP elites, including members of Erdogan’s family.
UPI carried criticism from opposition parties and rights groups:
Critics claim the legislation is as attempt by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to enhance his powers. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) wields significant influence in parliament and was able to push the legislation through after heated debate.
Opposition parties expressed concern that the empowered MIT would transform Turkey into a surveillance state. Rights group Freedom for Journalists Platform argued that Erdogan was attempting to privatize the intelligence agency for his own use.
Hurriyet Daily News explained that control over Ankara’s sprawling security apparatus “is at the heart of a feud between Erdogan and Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.” Erdogan and his allies blame Gulen-linked figures in the judiciary and police for the graft scandal, and have purged literally thousands of judges and police officers in response to revelations of deep-seated corruption.
The heavy-handed tactics have taken a toll on perceptions of Turkey as an Islamist democracy. Analysts and journalists had for months been describing the AKP’s campaign – which, after the initial purges, escalated into shutting down social media platforms – as a threat to Turkish civil and human rights. In February over 80 top U.S. foreign policy figures called on President Barack Obama to check what they described as a downward spiral of “authoritarian impulses.”
Last week a meeting between Turkish and European officials aimed at integrated Turkey into the Continent had to be pushed off, with an E.U. diplomat explaining that “there would [have been] too much bashing of Turkey around.”
[Photo: MagnificentNewsNetwork / YouTube ]