The sight of the heads of supreme justice bodies, judges and prosecutors giving a standing ovation to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his opulent new palace will go down in history as a dark day for Turkey’s already bruised democracy.
This year’s ceremony for the opening of the judicial year on 1 September was held at the presidential palace in Ankara. Objecting to the location, leader of the main opposition and the Union of Bar Associations (TBB) had refused to attend.
As it turned out, it was not just the inappropriate choice of premises that should have caused concern. The entire ceremony, complete with presidential instructions to judges and enthusiastic appreciation by the audience, meant that the pretence of the “separation of powers” is no longer deemed necessary.
Calling the scenes at the ceremony a “disgrace”, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition party, has said that the principle of judicial independence was greatly undermined and that judges were no longer free from political intervention in Turkey.
Mr. Erdogan has dismissed the criticism; instead arguing that the presidential palace belonged to the Turkish people and holding such a meeting there instead of a hotel room had nothing to do with judicial independence. He said that the nation needed unity and solidarity more than ever, adding that he expected representatives of all institutions “to move again in line with the Yenikapı spirit of 7 August”
Mr. Erdogan clearly does not see a difference between an unconditional support for himself and an unequivocal denouncement of the 15 July coup attempt.
His opponents that joined the rally held in Istanbul’s Yenikapi Square on 7 August did not give the President and his government a carte blanche to do as they please with the fundamental principles of the country’s constitution. They were not declaring their loyalty to the regime. They were there to safeguard the dignity, impartiality and independence of their country’s institutions.
With the judiciary no longer fully able to perform its functions independently of the government and free from political pressure, there is no hope that Turkey will return to anything resembling normality.
Tens of thousands of dismissals as well as thousands of arrests since the 15 July coup attempt are awaiting due process.
There are legal and diplomatic battles to be fought in other countries, trying to extradite those accused of plotting the coup.
The use of the State of Emergency law to crack down on free speech has already made Turkey the world’s top jailer of journalists.
Yet, with every passing day, Turkey’s commitment to the rule of law and fundamental freedoms seems to be weakening, while the bridge of understanding with the rest of the world slowly crumbles.
This post is also available in: Turkish
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