Now, we need democracy and human rights more than ever.
The
tanks stepping into action on the evening of July 15 caused a night
of horror in Turkey. The parliament and many other institutions were
bombed and attacked. Many civilians were killed by the fire or the
bombs of the putschists. The entire country, terrified and worried,
watched the attempted coup and its foiling on TV. As Agos, the first
thing we should say is that we are against all kinds of
antidemocratic attempts.
However, though the foiling of the coup is a positive development, the atmosphere that prevails after the attempted coup bears a lot of questions. There are lots of signs indicating that the concentration of power that started before the attempted coup will increase incrementally. While it is unknown where the purge in bureaucracy, judiciary and academy will stop, we also observe the hints of the pressure that will be exercised on media.
More importantly, we are going through a period in which practices and measures like death penalty and torture are discussed as if they are usual items on agenda. If the practices that would be exercised after a coup starts after a foiled coup, there would be serious problems in terms of democratic life. Not to mention the fact that fair trial of putschists is essential in order to reckon with the coup. Now, we need democracy and human rights more than ever.
