Erdogan's Referendum Has Turned Into An Obituary For Turkish Democracy

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 4/17/2017 | Staff

[IBD editorial writer]

Turkey, RIP: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to have won a narrow victory in a referendum giving him sweeping, near-dictatorial powers and essentially ending his nation's 98-year democratic experiment, unique in the Mideast.

Starting with Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk immediately following World War I, as the final remnants of the Ottoman Empire were dismantled, Turkey had hewed closely to a mostly democratic, religiously secular, pro-Western government model.

It was a model that worked. Turkey forged close ties with governments in Western Europe, in particular Germany, and sent hundreds of thousands of its workers there. Meanwhile, with the Soviet Union after World War II stirring up trouble in the Mideast (as Vladimir Putin's Russia is doing now), Turkey joined NATO, becoming a critical bulwark on the 29-nation NATO's southern flank.

In a region of troubled nations, Turkey was a center of calm and a key economic and security ally for decades.

Now all that is in doubt, if not in tatters.

[blackbetty59]

And in other news, Trump calls and congratulates Erdogan on his new and increased powers.

[exnavy]

Thank God for that, democracy is the worst form of governance. Nothing more than mob rule.

[Terry L Smith]

The death of (Turkish) democracy by the hands of mohammedans.

The resurgence of The Ottoman Empire has begun.

Erdogan has bamboozled the Turkish people into voting FOR a mohammedan theocratic caliphate.

All the time that “Turkey” was attempting to follow ‘the Western mold of civilization’, the cancer of mohammedanism was allowed to fester and grow, till today.

With this vote “of the people”, I prefer that the nation of Turkey, NOT be allowed into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, since it was Turkey, as the center of The Ottoman Empire, did invade Europe to the gates of Vienna. Why tempt a repeat of history?

[blackbetty59]

Erdogan is a radical islamist, and he’s trying to create a caliphate. Do you honestly believe that is better than a democratic Turkey?

[rrrod]

Turkey will be another Venezuela within 2 yrs

[Hugin]

Nobody uses the word democracy to mean pure Athenian style direct rule. In modern English it’s come to mean a republic based on the principle that government derives power from consent of the governed, who have the right to change or abolish it. Even Justice Scalia used it that way routinely talking about “American democracy”. Pretending the word still means direct popular votes on every decision of government just muddies the waters and wastes time and energy on pointless semantic arguments.

[Blennos]

Excellent point, well-stated.

[Biggirl]

Second it.

[Neoliberalnot]

The subject is about “American” democracy.

[exnavy]

Thank you for the long winded nonsense. Reading, and studying the founders writings helps why the libs, lefties, and progressives desire to call “demacracy” the end all. It (democracy) sucks rocks.