The Panic Engulfing the Turkish State and the Fear of Losing Control

The arrest of two top executives of TUSİAD, the ‘Club of Business Owners,’ marks a significant rupture in Turkey’s political and economic landscape. President Erdoğan’s remarks to the AKP Group, in this context, are critical as they reveal the nature of the regime:

• The system of privileges built on smoothly operating rent-seeking mechanisms in Turkey has collapsed.
• The arrogant system that dictated terms to politicians in Turkey has collapsed.
• The system that enriched itself through instability in Turkey has collapsed.
• The system that thrived while the Turkish nation suffered economic crises has collapsed.
• To those engaging in political engineering, let me remind you: Turkey is not your private property, the Turkish people are not your employees, and Turkish politicians are not your salaried staff.
• In the ‘New Turkey,’ you will know your place.

This is not just a declaration but also an admission of how the Turkish regime has been fortified. In the statements emphasizing “instability” and “economic crisis,” Erdoğan is somewhat correct. Because the business world in Turkey remained silent while the Turkish people were being robbed through the “FX-Protected Deposit System.” And it has been evident since 2021 that economic indicators in Turkey have been plummeting!

Erdoğan went on with his familiar rhetoric:
“If you are so eager to engage in politics, either form a party or choose one of the opposition parties that hang on your every word.”

First and foremost, politics is not exclusive to active politicians. Every segment of Turkish society—individuals, civil society, and journalists—has the right to criticize and debate decision-making processes. The imposition of “Start a party if you want to speak!” is nothing more than a propaganda tactic.

Moreover, the Turkish Palace regime has also imprisoned those who did establish political parties. Just this past week, members of the People’s Democratic Congress (HDK) were arrested in pre-dawn raids. Provincial leaders and members of the party councils from Turkey’s DEM Party, EMEP, the Green Left Party, and SYKP were taken into custody.

The regime is both hypocritical and deceitful in this regard, as it has confined Turkey’s political and economic spheres to those who pledge absolute loyalty to it.

Turkish journalists who trouble the government are arrested on charges of “publicly disseminating misleading information,” Turkish judges who refuse to issue the desired rulings are investigated, and fundamental democratic rights such as strikes and boycotts in Turkey are suppressed by police force.

It seems that the last exit before the bridge has long been passed. The knots tied since Turkey’s Gezi protests have immobilized social movements to an extreme degree.

Call it whatever you want—either the Turkish opposition’s incompetence or its surrender.

The message behind Erdoğan’s statements quoted above can be summed up as follows:
“To those engaging in political engineering, know this well: Turkey is my private property, the Turkish people are my employees, and Turkish politicians are my salaried staff. In the ‘New Turkey,’ you will know your place!”

The defining characteristic of criminal organizations is their use of sensational actions to instill fear in society. The clique currently in control of the Turkish state is doing exactly that.

A Turkish astrologer was arrested simply for a vague post suggesting, “This government won’t last until the election.” Hilal Saraç is still behind bars. Now, people in Turkey are not only being targeted for what they say but also for what they don’t say or merely imply.

This is a country where even Turkish singer Ahmet Kaya was once summoned for questioning over his song lyrics. In his first album Ağlama Bebeğim (Don’t Cry, Baby), he sang, “There is such a place far away, where happiness exists.” The question put to him was: “Are you referring to the Communist Soviet Union?”

The Turkish state tradition has not changed much. The method remains the same; only the level of repression has intensified. The only difference is that Ahmet Kaya was not jailed for those lyrics, though Turkey’s state-run TRT banned his works.

The ultimate goal of oppression in Turkey is to render opposition impossible. But history has repeatedly proven that tyranny is unsustainable and that every authoritarian regime eventually hits a wall. No matter how deeply fear is embedded, it is impossible to rule Turkey indefinitely through oppression.

The real question is: How much longer will Turkish society accept this silence imposed upon it?

Otherwise, a day will come when people in Turkey will not only be judged for their words but also for their silence. Because fascism is a “regime of suppression.” Fascist regimes do not merely silence the opposition; they dictate what society must say.

It must not be forgotten: Rulers are at their weakest precisely when they believe they are at their strongest. Today, those governing Turkey are experiencing their most vulnerable moment—economically, politically, and diplomatically. And that is exactly why they are afraid.

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