Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has intensified his crackdown on the opposition in Turkey over investigations of his own family members.

Over the last week, Erdogan has targeted numerous government departments deemed hostile to the interests of his family.

The prime minister, whose government was under investigation for corruption, ordered the reassignment of thousands of police and prosecutors believed linked to a Turkish dissident cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Deputies from Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party have also assaulted opposition members in parliament. On Jan. 23, an opposition member was injured after being punched in parliament by a deputy from Erdogan’s ruling party.

“The cause provokes consequences,” Erdogan said on Jan. 24.

In a parliamentary session, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, Bulent Tezcan, asked why Erdogan’s son, Bilal, was not interrogated on corruption charges. As he spoke on the podium, Tezcan was struck and injured by Justice Development Party member Oktay Saral.

“Saying these words against the prime minister from the stand of the General Assembly is a provocation,” Erdogan said.

Both the European Union and United States have urged Erdogan to stop his
crackdown and restore independence to the judiciary. In an article in the
U.S. newspaper Washington Post, two former U.S. ambassadors to Ankara
warned that Erdogan was destroying Turkish democracy.

“Erdogan’s current course would take Turkey from an imperfect democracy
to an autocracy,” said the Jan. 23 article, authored by former envoys Morton
Abramowitz and Eric Edelman as well as Turkish specialist Blaise Misztal.

“Such a fate for a close ally and NATO member would have profound
implications for our partnership, the United States’ beleaguered credibility
and the prospects for democracy in the region.”

The prime minister said he would withdraw part of a controversial bill
aimed to reform the judiciary. Erdogan had sought to present the legislation
as a revision to the constitution in a move that sparked widespread protests
and mediation by President Abdullah Gul.

“This was the right decision,” opposition chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu
said.

“A picture that shows that Turkey cannot deal with serious graft claims through the law will raise questions about ‘which world does Turkey belong to in countries investing here,’ ” Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association president Muharrem Yilmaz said.

  Bulent Tezcan, Erdogan’s crackdown turning Turkey into an autocracy, Justice and Development Party, opposition warns, Recep Erdogan, Republican People’s Party