The number of nongovernmental organizations whose activities have been banned by the state of emergency rule is steadily increasing. The latest was the announcement that 370 more NGOs have been shut down, bringing the total number of NGOs banned since July 15 to 1,495. Of that number, 1,125 were banned with a decree issued July 23.
According to the latest data from the Department of NGOs in the Ministry of Interior, there are 109,898 registered NGOs in the country. Of that number, 33,666 professional and solidarity associations lead the way. Next in line are 21,039 NGOs involved with sports. Also, 18,063 associations are active in religious affairs, and about 18,000 in total deal with humanitarian assistance, education, culture and arts. Only 327 are concerned with the elderly and children.
Some 85% of Turks are not members of any NGO, which is a sure sign of how Turks are becoming a society wary of getting organized. This reluctance dates back to the era of military coups. After each coup, the first targets were civil society associations and labor unions. One doesn’t have to be a seer to predict that after the July 15 coup attempt it will be even harder to strengthen civil society and bring people together in a search for solutions to their common problems. The government believes that the Gulenist movement owes its popularity and power to the schools, associations and foundations it operated; therefore, all are suspect. It won’t be a surprise if some NGOs are unfairly treated in the process of going after those working for the Gulen movement.
The Ministry of Interior claimed that the latest 370 NGOs to be shut down are linked to the Gulenists, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the leftist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and the Islamic State (IS). In 39 provinces, 153 of them are charged with Gulenist connections, while 190 are accused of having links to the PKK and its affiliates. The DHKP-C saw 19 of its NGOs shut down, while IS was at the bottom of the list with a closure of eight NGOs.
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