In our 5 January article, “ERDOGAN POWER GRAB OR LOSING POWER?,” we reported the Turkish president seemed intent on consolidating power when the country’s parliament passed a bill granting new government control over non-government organizations (NGOs).
The move was seen as the door slowly opening to abolish all rights groups in the country, which critics said was a clear threat to any dissent in the country that was aimed at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rule.
Last week, Ankara’s push to shut down the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) prompted criticism from countries in Europe and the U.S. that called the legal effort a threat to democracy. Ankara claimed the party, which has a Kurdish base, has links to extremism that puts the country at risk and jeopardizes its unity, the Financial Times reported.
Bekir Sahin, the chief public prosecutor, told the Supreme Court of Appeals last Wednesday there was no difference between the HDP and the PKK terror group. He called on the court to ban the group from all financial support from the country and an immediate ban on its political leaders, the Daily Sabah reported.
Pervin Buldan, the co-chair of the HDP, said the move will “be recorded as a black stain in Turkey’s history.” Ms. Buldan called the move “a coup to usurp the will of the people.” Mithat Sancar, the other chair of the party, said the indictment is an attempt to distract the public from Erdogan’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Josep Borrell, the European Union foreign policy chief, condemned the move and said it adds to the concerns from the bloc about Turkey’s “backsliding in fundamental rights.”
TREND FORECAST: As Gerald Celente has long noted, “When all else fails they take you to war.”
Besides suffering blowback from banning the HDP, the Turkish lira plummeted some 15 percent yesterday, falling to a near all-time low against the U.S. dollar after President Erdogan fired the central bank governor on Saturday because he raised interest rates to battle inflation. (See our new article, “TURKEY’S CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR FIRED AFTER RATE HIKE.”)
With the nation facing financial distress and political upheaval, Erdogan redirected the nation’s attention by launching airstrikes on Ayn Issa and the surrounding areas, which is Syrian Kurdish territory.
Reportedly killing a dozen Kurdish troops, Turkey has illegally occupied much of northern Syria under the guise of keeping the Kurds from threatening its border.
