The events of the past three months threw a stark light on the way the AKP government and Gülenists used the justice system in the past for common political ends. The result has been a clear erosion of the rule of law. Turkey’s voters deserve better than that.
The fear of possible military coups have never left the collective imaginary of all forms of Turkish public, including the conservative constituency.
While there are certainly gendered imbalances in the actual structures of current sex markets, these imbalances are created, reinforced and strengthened not by sex work itself but by laws criminalizing sex work and by treating sex workers as second-class citizens without rights.
In line with the AKP government’s rudimentary understanding of “democracy” that considers it synonymous with elections, Erdoğan has reiterated countless times that the solution to all problems, including the allegations against his government, lay in that holy of holies: the Ballot Box.
Let us stand still and recognize what has happened in the Dutch repudiation of Geert Wilders and embrace of Moroccan-Dutch – in all its ambivalence – but not cheer it, yet.
Palestinian officials too often assume the role of oppressor, condemning spontaneous reactions to Israeli violations and promoting meek submission in its stead. They cast the Palestinian people in the roles of suspect and offender. Such attitudes only feed into the occupier’s spin on reality.
It is, in a sense, a good sign for racial integration to see that the “new French” are voting just like the old ones.
