Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey, under criticism from the West, has revised its
counter-insurgency laws.

On April 11, parliament voted to revise Turkey’s CI legislation,
used by the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to arrest nearly
1,000 critics over the last decade. Legislators endorsed amendments that
restricted the definition of what was termed terrorist propaganda.

“We are one step closer toward reaching universal legal norms,” Bulent
Turan, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, said.

The amendments were passed by a huge majority in parliament, controlled by the Justice and Development Party.

But the opposition as well as human rights activists said the revisions, pressed by the European Union and United States, would not prevent prosecutors influenced by Erdogan to order the detention of critics.

“This package does nothing to solve any of our problems,” opposition
parliamentarian Bulent Tezcan said. “We are faced with a government that treats anyone who wants to express an opinion as terrorists.”

Under Erdogan, nearly 500 current and retired military and security
officers were arrested on charges of plotting against the
pro-Islamist government.

Prosecutors have also detained hundreds of journalists and academics deemed secular opponents of the prime minister.

  Bulent Tezcan, Bulent Turan, Justice and Development Party, pro-Islamist Turkish government, Turkish opposition charges Erdogan brands critics as terrorists