A SUMMARY : TURKEY AFTER ERDOGAN’S ‘REFORM PACKAGE’

Protests Re-emerge Following Erdogan’s Reform Package:After PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduced a reform package, protests have reemerged across Turkey. Protesters staged late-night street protests for three consecutive nights following the death of an anti-government demonstrator. Protesters in Istanbul and Ankara threw firecrackers and petrol bombs while police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Kurdish militants described the electoral and social reforms proposed by the government as illegitimate.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) argued the package was “coming from a government with one eye on the next election.” Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the Peace and Democracy Party, criticized the reforms. Amir Taheri described the reform package as fragmenting Turkish society by encouraging “many Turks to redefine their identities as minorities.” Andrew Finkel argued the reforms lack “real democracy” because “giving  Kurds or Alevis more rights risked alienating his core supporters among Sunni and Turkish nationalists.” Semih Idiz argued that “it lifts major restrictions on devout Sunnis imposed by previous secular governments.”

Government Criticized for Conditions of Sick Inmates: Human rights activists called on the government to improve conditions for sick inmates and address human rights violations. The Human Rights Association (IHD) said of 526 sick political prisoners 154 need extremely urgent treatment. Raci Bilici, head of the Diyarbakir branch of the IHD said, “The history of prisons in Turkey is filled with deaths, torture and violations of rights. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities arrested a group of students that visited Iran for 20 days on an exchange program on allegations of espionage against the Turkish state. Turkey also began constructing a wall on its border with Syria in order to “stop people from illegally bypassing its checkpoints and prevent smuggling.”