Human rights groups bristled at a newly passed law in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, that grants new government control over non-government organizations (NGOs), which critics say threaten any dissent in the country aimed at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party.
Tarik Beyham, Director of Amnesty International in Turkey, told the Financial Times the legislation enables the interior ministry to use vague terrorism charges to cease these groups’ activities, and it means these organizations could be shut down without an explanation and “without a chance for appeal.”
“It raises the possibility that all rights groups may be abolished in Turkey,” he said.
The new legislation is called, “Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.” German outlet Deutsche Welle reported that the bill, passed in parliament on 7 December, would enable the interior ministry to replace board members of these associations and suspend all operations if there are terror charges.
The FT reported the government had cracked down on dissent in 2016 when over a half million people faced legal proceedings in a failed coup attempt. They noted that thousands of journalists, lawyers, and opposition protesters remain in prison. The FT pointed out that hundreds of NGOs in the country were also closed at the time.
“The definition of terrorism in this law is quite ambiguous, problematic, and far from international standards. Many rights defenders have been charged under this law,” Beyham told the FT.
“Human rights groups are frequently exposed to terrorism accusations [and] this law relies on ambiguous definitions of terrorism to render associations dysfunctional,” he concluded.
TREND FORECAST: As Gerald Celente has said, “When all else fails, they take you to war.” As we have detailed in other issues of the Trends Journal, Turkey’s economy faces a “Greatest Depression” future.
With economies across the globe failing, governments will divert the public’s attention away from national issues by intensifying conflicts with countries they have or will have, disputes with.
Thus, Turkey’s involvement in the Caucuses, Libya, and Syria, and Greece are key trigger points with explosive potential that could destabilize the regions.
