ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu unveiled a tightening of security legislation yesterday following deadly protests this month, amid growing fears that the government is using the unrest to tighten its grip on power.
Around 40 people were killed in violence that swept southeast Turkey after Kurdish protesters took to the streets to express their fury over the fate of the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobane, besieged by Islamic State militants for a month.
Sparked by anger at Ankara’s failure to intervene militarily to help Kobani, the unrest revived bitter memories of the street violence that has punctuated a three decades long insurgency by Kurdish militants against Turkish authorities. It also recalled massive anti-government protests that rocked Turkey last year.
“If there are people who want to revive these events, the state and the nation has the power to put them in their place,” Davutoglu told a parliamentary meeting of his ruling AK Party. “When you take a Molotov cocktail in your hand, the right to assembly and protest ends and an act of violence begins. Any act which turns to violence will be considered a crime.”
Under legislation that will presented to parliament soon, those involved in violent protests will face longer jail sentences and those protesting with their faces covered would be viewed as “potential criminals”.
Police will be given the authority to keep suspects under detention for 24 hours, whereas a prosecutor’s consent is required under existing legislation. A prosecutor will be able to extend the detention by 48 hours.
Government officials have insisted the changes are necessary to maintain order, with Davutoglu saying the new law is in line with European Union standards.
But critics argue the country is heading towards becoming a police state, pointing to a raft of legislation since last year which has tightened government control of the security forces, the judiciary and the internet.
In recent years, Turkey’s western partners have expressed alarm at apparent signs of creeping authoritarianism in Ankara, while President Tayyip Erdogan’s international standing has been tarnished by police brutality towards anti-government protesters and high profile bans of Twitter and YouTube.
Reuters
