Journalists and activists participate in a rally calling for the freedom of press in central Ankara. (ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Turkey, as almost any observer (or indeed, Turkish citizen), will tell you, is a country of remarkable contradictions. For someone like myself, who has known and loved the country for so many years, these contradictions can be painful. On the one hand, Turkey enjoys a vibrant and wildly creative culture, a strong economy, outstanding universities, and electoral politics that – despite many flaws – have been able to adapt to real political change. Yet, despite these remarkable achievements, Turkey’s record on freedom of expression has, in many ways, suffered real decline.
Problems range from the banning of websites to lawsuits aimed at stifling free speech and debate. Indeed, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan seems to file lawsuits almost weekly, normally at critical journalists, in what seems to be a concerted effort to use civil courts to limit political criticism and serious journalistic scrutiny. More broadly, anti-terrorism laws have been used to attack peaceful dissent.