Turkish intellectuals make calls for democracy
Turkish intellectuals and prominent figures have started a petition calling on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to backpedal from the dangerous road it is treading before it is too late for democracy in Turkey.
The intellectuals say that Turkey's path to democracy has been regularly impeded by coups in the past, but today it is struggling as the ruling party sees separation of powers, judicial independence, parliamentary oversight, the right to peaceful assembly and protest and freedom of the press as threats or attempted coups. They agree that the government portrays democracy's typical components such as checks and balances as obstacles to the "national will."
“The ruling party seeks to silence critical media by using the legal code and judicial bodies that have recently been reorganized to this end, and efforts are made to eradicate journalism as a profession,” the statement says, calling on the public to be aware of the worrisome process of deviation from democracy in Turkey, and on the AK Party to step away from this dangerous path.
The campaign comes after the latest government move on media on Dec. 14 when journalists, including the editor of Turkey's best-selling Zaman newspaper and manager of the Samanyolu TV network, as well as producers, actors and actresses from a TV series were taken into custody on charges of being members of a “terrorist organization”' and attempting to take over the state.
The petitioners are Ahmet Altan, Ahmet İnsel, Ahmet İsvan, Ahmet Turan Alkan, Ali Bulaç, Altan Tan, Asaf Savaş Akat, Aslı Tunç, Ataol Behramoğlu, Aydın Engin, Ayhan Aktar, Baskın Oran, Bülent Keneş, Bülent Korucu, Cafer Solgun, Cemal Uşak, Cengiz Aktar, Cengiz Çandar, Ceren Sözeri, Ceyda Karan, Cihangir İslam, Cüneyt Ülsever, Daron Acemoğlu, Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat, Doğan Akın, Doğan satmış, Doğu Ergil, Ergun Babahan, Erkan Saka, Erkam Tufan Aytav, Ertuğrul Günay, Faruk Mercan, Ferhat Kentel, Gençay Gürsoy, Hadi Uluengin, Hasan Cemal, Hayko Bağdat, Herkül Milas, Hilmi Yavuz, İbrahim Betil, İştar Gözaydın, Kazım Güleçyüz, Koray Çalışkan, Kürşat Bumin, Levent Köker, Mario Levi, Maya Arakon, Mehmet Altan, Mehmet Bekaroğlu, Mehmet Betil, Mehmet Kamış, Mehveş Evin, Melis Behlil, Murat Aksoy, Murat Belge, Mustafa Erdoğan, Mustafa Yeşil, Müge Göcek, Mümtaz'er Türköne, Namık Çınar, Nazlı Ilıcak, Neşe Düzel, Nil Mutluer, Nilüfer Göle, Niyazi Öktem, Nuray Mert, Orhan Kemal Cengiz, Osman Kavala, Oya Baydar, Ömer Laçiner, Ömer Madra, Pelin Batu, Reha Çamuroğlu, Sait Çetinoğlu, Samim Akgönül, Selahattin Özel, Seyfettin Gürsel, Suat Kınıklıoğlu, Suna Vidinli, Şahin Alpay, Tahir Özyurtseven, Taner Akçam, Tayfun Atay, Temel İskit, Tuğba Tekerek, Ufuk Uras, Ümit Kardaş, Ünal Ünsal, Yasemin Çongar, Yasemin İnceoğlu, Yavuz Baydar, Yavuz Oğhan and Yüksel Taşkın.
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