TURKEY/ An opposition leader: Fear has become a dominant feeling in Turkish politics

Attacks against Christian places of worship, discrimination on the basis of religion, and an entire society that lives in fear continues in Turkey. Sencer Ayata, vice president and cultural leader of the Republican People’s Party, the principal opposing party in Turkey, made this statement. Professor Ayata wrote an article in the November issue of the magazine “New Europe” on the theme of religious freedom. Ilsussidiario.net interviewed him, asking him to explain his point of view on Turkish society. In the next days Ilsussidiario.net will publish an interview with Egemen Bagis, the Minister for EU Affairs in the Turkish government, who will respond to Ayata’s observations.

Professor Ayata, what are the main discriminations suffered by Christians and other religious minorities under the AKP government? Numerous monitoring reports have repeatedly indicated that discrimination, exclusion, and hate speech have become widespread within the last decade. Attacks against worship halls, cemeteries, members of the clergy, and other public figures have raised concern among national and international observers. Many communities in Turkey continue to demand equal rights, fair treatment, and respect for freedom of religion. The Justice and Development Party, however, despite being in power for the last eight years, has demonstrated neither strong commitment nor willingness to institutionalize fundamental rights and freedoms.

You wrote that «Turkish citizens increasingly refer to the Turkish political system as the society of fear». What did you mean?

Fear has become a dominant feeling in Turkish politics under the rule of the Justice and Development Party. Turkish citizens are increasingly scared of expressing, communicating, or publicizing dissenting views. Illegal wiretapping, breach of privacy, and the deliberate spreading of misinformation for defamation purposes have become widespread. Numerous members of the Turkish media and NGOs have either suffered from heavy fines or long imprisonment terms without being convicted or even indicted in some cases. As a result, in today’s Turkey individuals are reluctant to make use of their freedom of expression or association. The government is trying hard to silence and pacify the opposition forces.