In third world democracies such as Turkey, there is a vast gap between what laws say and how they are enforced.
“As many as 2,000 individuals — reporters, celebrities, academics and students — are reportedly being officially investigated on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or spreading ‘terrorist propaganda.'” — “Reporters Without Borders” Report.
The EU must understand that it has too little, if any, leverage on a country that is going full speed toward darker days of Islamist authoritarianism.
With or without legal amendments to its anti-terror laws or a deal with the EU, Erdogan’s Turkey will de facto follow the path of Islamist autocracies, where any kind of dissent amounts to terrorism and treason.
Turkey and the European Union (EU) have been negotiating a deal that ostensibly would stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants into Europe; Turkey, on its part, would bring dozens of laws and regulations, including its draconian anti-terror laws, in line with Europe’s; and nearly 80 million Turks would then be given visa-free travel to the EU’s borderless Schengen zone. But now, as Turkey refuses to amend its anti-terror laws, the deal seems to be facing a stalemate.
That is hardly the heart of the matter. In reality, both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the EU are pursuing a deal that will not work.