Turkey has long been admired internationally for being a large Muslim democracy and having a vibrant economy. Under its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turks in 1923 obtained full independence against heavy odds, and the country later became a key NATO member. The rule of law, virtual universal literacy, and separation of religion and the state became keystones of modern Turkey.
Governing in the Ataturk tradition in their early years, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development (AK) Party impressed many at home and abroad. Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul (1994–1998), prime minister (2003–2014), and president in 2014. His achievements include winding down for several years a bloody 30-year conflict with Turkey’s 15-million-strong Kurdish minority, which had cost at least 40,000 lives, and accepting 700,000 refugees from Assad’s Syria.
Unfortunately, in recent years Erdogan has undermined Turkey’s democratic institutions and the basic rights of its citizens. In late 2013, for example, when a corruption scandal broke involving himself and his cabinet, no one was charged; numerous judges, prosecutors, and police were quickly reassigned contrary to the democratic principle that no one is above the law. As of March last year, 22 journalists were in jail and more than 60 had been found guilty of defamation against him. Major electronic and print media have been seized by his government in a manner similar to what President Putin has done in Russia.
In the June 2015 national election, which focused on corruption, the Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP) won 12 percent of Turks’ votes and cost the AK its parliamentary majority. Opposition parties attempted to form a coalition government, but failed, allowing Erdogan to call another election. On Nov. 1, 2015, he won a near majority, but still lacks enough seats to change the constitution to establish a presidency without effective checks or balances.
Next-door in Iraq, the ISIS conflict has killed almost 15,000 civilians and wounded 30,000 others during a 16-month period according to a U.N. report. More than 2.8 million Iraqis remain displaced within their country, including 1.3 million children. On March 17 of this year, Secretary of State John Kerry officially designated that Christians as well as Yazidis and Shia Muslims were suffering genocide at the hands of ISIS.
