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| The Grand Turk |
| Massive Demonstrations Shake Turkey |
| 2013-06-03 |
| More than 1000 people have been injured in several days of protests in Istanbul and 11 other cities against TurkeyÂ’s Islamist regime. The number of dead is not clear. There have been more than 90 demonstrations, making these the biggest anti-Islamist protests in a decade. Hundreds more were hurt in conflicts with police in Ankara, the capital. The demonstrations began as an environmental protest about the destruction of a famous Istanbul park but had spread to Ankara, too. The movement began in Taksim Square, IstanbulÂ’s most famous. The police responded toughly using tear gas and pepper spray. Some compared this to the Arab Spring demonstrations elsewhere in the Middle East, though this idea seems exaggerated. Gradually the Justice and Development Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been working to transform Turkey into something much closer to an Islamist state. Hundreds of political prisoners have been jailed on trumped-up charges of planned coups; the army has been forced to submit; a new constitution is being developed; and the independent judiciary is under assault by the government. Much of the mass media has been bought up or intimidated. One must also take into account educational system changes, the declining status of women, and rising efforts to reduce the sale of alcohol. Turkey has more journalists in jail than any other country in the world. |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #5 g(r)om, never thought or meant they WERE the Ottoman's only that they wanna be. Still think the pharohs and, how about the Hittites?, would be a improvement. Basically I think any indigenous civilization prior to the 7th century would be an improvement. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2013-06-03 16:59 |
| #4 Erdogan and Co are no more Ottomans than Benito Mussolini was a Roman Emperor. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-06-03 15:30 |
| #3 At least the Ottomans kept a lid on their crazier neighbors. It might be worth a second try. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2013-06-03 15:09 |
| #2 Turkey has more journalists in jail than any other country in the world. I now see the stats the DOJ is using to set their 2013 goals. ;-p |
| Posted by: ExtremeModerate 2013-06-03 10:40 |
| #1 Well, Turkey decided it was time to enter the race to the bottom. 13th century here we come. They figure to recreate and relive the Ottoman Dynasty circa 1299. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2013-06-03 07:34 |