Economic situation worsening in Turkey

The economic situation in Turkey is deteriorating day after day as a result of the failed internal policies of the Turkish regime. This deterioration  prompted tens of thousands of Turks to demonstrate demanding the resignation of the government, the resignation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the holding of early parliamentary elections.

The economic measures taken by Erdogan’s regime in recent weeks, including the sharp cuts in interest rates imposed by the Central Bank, caused the collapse of the Turkish currency to the lowest level in its history. This led to a marked deterioration in the living conditions of Turks, and this was a direct cause of the huge protests that took place in the city Istanbul on Tuesday.

During demonstrations in Taksim Square in Istanbul, tens of thousands of Turks denounced Erdogan’s policies and accused him of stealing the people’s money.

The Wall Street Journal said that the economic crisis in Turkey has entered a new phase with the collapse of the Turkish lira to a new record level and Erdogan’s insistence on his policies and his confusion on the external level in an attempt to find new investors.

The newspaper pointed out that the Turkish currency fell by 18 percent on Tuesday, which threatens to further turmoil of the Turkish economy and undermine confidence in it. This collapse makes it difficult for companies to repay foreign currency debts and increases the cost of imported goods, especially oil. Analysts assert that this would increase the inflation rate, which is currently about 20 percent, to a higher level, which will further harm Turkish families.

The British Guardian newspaper, in turn, said that the Turkish lira fell by 40 percent this year due to a series of interest cuts by the central bank and Erdogan’s change of bank governors several times, which led to a state of anxiety in the markets.

Analysts considered Erdogan’s decision last October to dismiss 3 members of the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee and appoint two new members and a deputy governor as new evidence of political interference by Erdogan who had previously described himself as  anti-interest rate.

In parallel with the worsening economic crisis that Turkey is witnessing and the state of popular upheaval due to Erdogan’s failed policies, international criticism of the repressive and authoritarian practices carried out by the head of the Turkish regime to get rid of his opponents is mounting.

In this context, the International Institute for Democracy and Elections confirmed that Turkey was classified as one of the most backward  democratic countries. The European Court of Human Rights condemned the Turkish regime’s arbitrary detention of 427 judges and prosecutors, five years after the coup attempt that this regime used as a pretext to launch a campaign of arrests and dismissals from working against thousands of opponents of his policies.

Inas Abdulkareem