Foreign Interference?

"While the party was facing serious accusations, they tolerated the people responsible and ordered disciplinary action against those who were trying to get them to reason. They have made my decision easier. The party has evolved into two different wings; the wide base of people who have been oppressed and an overbearing mentality on the top. This mentality has no chance now. At this point, those people who have this mentality are sailing to somewhere else, guided by their arrogance. We have come to the point of a parting of the ways."
Ertugrul Gunay, MP, Turkish Justice and Development Party

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves to his supporters at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul on Friday. Anadolu Agency / European Pressphoto Agency

 

The interesting thing in all of this is that Turkey, once known as a link between Europe and the Middle East, Islam and Christianity, with its secular government despite its Muslim ideology, attempted to emulate European democracy without the emphasis on the lens of Islam. The Ataturk vision for Turkey was to liberate government and society from the focus of Islam infusing everything with its religious and political ideology. And that direction propelled Turkey into the modern era.

The country, and its military, from whence Kamel Ataturk had sprung with his modernist vision, was determined never again to allow Islam to dominate. The Turkish military successfully intervened on four occasions to prevent Islamist parties from coming to government power. Until the advent of one party, considered by many to be "moderate", but yet an Islamist party. Which initially came to power on a tentative Islamic bent which seemed nonthreatening to the secular order.

But which, as it gained traction and greater public appeal through a succession of three elections and economic prosperity came up with a majority last time around, giving Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the confidence to forge ahead. And he did that by consolidating the position of Islam within society and government, overturning generations of secularization processes. And most of all he succeeded by charging the military elite with treason, effectively emasculating their power base.

Secular-oriented Turks were anything but content with the growing visual evidence of Islam in their formerly secular society. The Erdogan government harassed and persecuted the news media critical of their governing style. And growing confidence stimulated Prime Minister Erdogan to exercise greater authority; in fact adopting an authoritarian style that incensed opposition to his perceived mandate to bring Islam back to the fore in Turkey.

The Justice and Development Party portrayed itself as pure and unblemished by corruption, vowing to cleanse government of all corruption. Because he hasn't endeared himself to the entire population, while still holding a majority status among those in favour of growing Islamism, he has come under fire for some of his administrative decisions, and protests in the summer demonstrated just how unpopular his political governing party was seen by a segment of the population.

Now, it has been revealed that the once-pure-political party headed by Mr. Erdogan may be anything but. Associates; offspring of three of his ministers were the subject, among others, including the CEO of the state-owned Halkbank, of a long investigation. That investigation resulted in charges and arrests, hugely embarrassing to the government. The payment of bribes smoothing the way to illegal imports of gas and oil from Iran using gold bullion to aid the country despite international sanctions hasn't reflected well on the government.

An investigation into these illegal activities that began over a year earlier was a secret intelligence initiative, kept from Mr. Erdogan and his associates. This fact alone has infuriated him. Leading to the removal of 70 police officers for daring to initiate such an investigation without the consent of Cabinet. All such future enquiries, claims the government, must be reported. That government order has not seen favour by the country's highest administrative court. A rift has emerged between government, police, and the judiciary.

Demonstrators set up barricades as they clash with riot police during an anti-government protest in central Istanbul December 27, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Seze

This authoritative, quasi-democratic government has taken to disciplining members of the government party who have openly criticized the party and government leadership. The result has been a number of Cabinet members choosing to leave their posts in protest, like Ertugrul Gunay.. Leaving Mr. Erdogan increasingly looking as though he is in trouble, even though those in the know insist he will weather the situation, just one of a number his rule has been exposed to.

As for Prime Minister Erdogan, a man who likes to spread blame around at any time, and who once someone is in his bad books, they remain there; the investigation, he charged furiously, was originally engineered by his political opponents. And those political opponents have behind them foreign agencies interfering in his country's affairs. A quite intolerable situation.




A contention that completely ignores the reality that the once-and-still-popular, but increasingly beleaguered AKP party and its leader, Prime Minister Erdogan are facing a backlash resulting from his increasingly authoritarian behaviour.