Human rights groups become new target of Ankara’s crackdown
The arrest of six prominent human rights activists in Turkey on terrorism-related charges marks a new phase in the suppression campaign of the Erdogan regime.
The Turkish government’s massive crackdown since last year’s attempted coup has targeted not only the putschists, but also the media, Kurdish politicians, as well as leftist, liberal and conservative oppositionists. The latest developments in this crackdown show that the regime is proceeding fast to the lowest point on its path to autocracy.
One particularly alarming omen is the arrest of six human rights activists, including Amnesty International’s Turkey director, following a July 5 police raid on a gathering of civic activists on an Istanbul island. The move indicates that Ankara’s suppression campaign has reached a new phase, turning to local and international human rights groups and civic society.
For Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil Shetty, the arrests represented a watershed. “This is a moment of truth for Turkey and for the international community. Leaders around the world must stop biting their tongues and acting as if they can continue business as usual,” he said, slamming the arrests as a “politically motivated persecution that charts a frightening future for rights in Turkey.”
The events have already had a chilling effect on civic society. The Citizens Assembly, for instance, postponed a “summer school” with Turkish and Armenian participants in Turkey, while the Berghof Foundation canceled a roundtable on the Kurdish problem.
