Erdogan uses the aggression on Syria to corner his opponents

The President of the Turkish regime Recep Tayyib Erdogan carries on his repressive policies against his opponents.

Since the alleged coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, the Turkish authorities have launched wide arrest campaigns that have targeted all who oppose Erdogan’s  policies and now he is doing the same by ordering his authorities to arrest all who dare reject his brutal aggression on the Syrian territories.

According to the “Washington Post” newspaper, Erdogan is exploiting his aggression on Syria to weaken his internal opposition, to silence all who criticize this aggression and to strengthen his power.

The Turkish writer Can Dundar wrote in the Washington Post on Friday that Erdogan is using the aggression on Syria to crack down on his critics and to corner the opposition, particularly after the losses his party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), suffered in the latest local elections held last April.

 Hundreds of people have been detained for commenting or reporting on Turkey’s military offensive on Syria launched on October 9th, he said.

The Washington Post quoted Amnesty International’s Europe Director Marie Struthers as saying that the language around the Turkish invasion has been “heavily policed with those dissenting opinions about Turkey’s military operation rounded up and facing investigations under anti-terrorism laws.”

This chilling effect, according to Dundar, is serving Erdogan’s political interests.

The newspaper pointed out that the Turkish regime’s authorities have arrested 150 Turkish citizens since the beginning of its aggression on Syria’s northeastern region. Even some Turks outside Turkey and who have rejected the aggression have not been spared Erdogan’s revenge. They faced detention immediately upon their return to their country just because they used the word “aggression” or “war” to describe the Turkish offensive on social media.

Erdogan’s regime has imprisoned more than 77,000 people and dismissed or suspended some 150,000 workers in the Turkish government, army, judiciary, education, media and other institutions.
Hamda Mutafa