over the years there has been a real concern that the formerly democratic, secular, constitutional republic. was voting itself into an Islamic totalitarian country that would someday usher in a stria based goverment...
.. that day has come...
not a very nice way to talk about your citizens.. but then again.. many are protesting an elected "dictator"
how could an elected administration be so totalitarian? ,.. ram through legislation that was decisive, target journalists and companies by using the power of the goverment? and still not expect a violent backlash?
and the Obama administration is shocked..
Later in the day,.. Obama appointed Fethullah Gulen to investigate the claims of brutality among the protestors.. :? :???: :shock:
just something to think about as they crush the "protestors" over the next few weeks...
.. that day has come...
"As of now we have no tolerance for them."
not a very nice way to talk about your citizens.. but then again.. many are protesting an elected "dictator"
Turkish protesters challenge authoritarian rule, Islamic law
Striking workers flooded into Istanbul's Taksim Square on day six of protests Wednesday as unions helped lead a major action in the capital of Ankara. Taksim demonstrators issued a list of six demands to the government, hoping that the involvement of hundreds of thousands of strikers across the country would apply pressure to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip and the government.
Throughout the week, protesters have squared off against police forces clad in riot gear, navigating streams of tear gas and water cannons
The protest began on May 28 as a peaceful demonstration against plans to clear out Gezi Park, one of the city’s last remaining green grounds, in order to build a shopping mall modeled after 19th-century Ottoman barracks. It then escalated into a violent nationwide clash between the people and the government
Protesters say the Turkish government, under the control of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which came to power in 2002, is becoming increasingly authoritarian, “trying to impose conservative Islamic values on the officially secular country and infringe on their personal freedoms,” the BBC reported.
Turkish restlessness over the recent direction of the country’s politics has gradually intensified as the AKP has “slowly strangled all opposition,” and “become the textbook case of a hollow democracy,”
In the last decade of rule, Erdogan successfully expanded education, health and housing, and has helped to boost Turkey into a regional power — advancements which allowed him to win three consecutive general elections, with a higher percentage of the popular vote each time. He took more than 47 percent of the vote in his last two elections
Through the uprising, Turkish officials are asking how a government that received almost 50 percent of the vote can be authoritarian.
Experts say social apprehension began with Erdogan and the AKP trying to replace the Turkish Constitution of 1982 with a newly drafted constitution
Coercive measures to quell dissent in Turkey include frequent arrests of journalists, penalization of companies for disagreeing with the government and curtailing of public freedom of expression.
Secular protests began in 2007, pressuring Erdogan not to run in presidential elections because of his Islamist background. In 2008 parliament approved constitutional amendments to allow women to wear headscarves in universities, inciting even more secular outrage. In 2010, a referendum backing amendments to increase parliamentary control over the military and judiciary were seen as an “attempt by the pro-Islamic government to appoint sympathetic judges.”
Turkey’s new alcohol law restricts the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m., limits advertising and bans new liquor licenses from any establishments within 100 meters of mosques and schools.
Opposition of the legislation notwithstanding, the law was written, debated and passed in only two weeks, with Erdogan telling critics they should just drink at home.
how could an elected administration be so totalitarian? ,.. ram through legislation that was decisive, target journalists and companies by using the power of the goverment? and still not expect a violent backlash?
what drink at home... no watering holes? what kind of god-forsaken country is that...
and the Obama administration is shocked..
"We continue to have serious concerns about the reports of excessive use of force by police and large numbers of injuries and damage to property, and welcome calls for these events to be investigated," White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday.
Later in the day,.. Obama appointed Fethullah Gulen to investigate the claims of brutality among the protestors.. :? :???: :shock:
just something to think about as they crush the "protestors" over the next few weeks...