Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the current Prime Minister of Turkey but he currently isn’t acting with any major intellect. On the contrary, when Turkey faces its most potent internal social and political crisis, Erdogan responds by travelling abroad on a planned political trip. However, this act merely highlights that he is aloof from the reality on the ground and it shows his utter discontent towards many of the Turkish electorate which have become disillusioned. It is clear that Turkish nationals who support open democracy, modernization, preserving the secular nature of society and other major positives are the people which are demonstrating in various parts of Turkey. Instead of trying to bridge the enormous gaps in Turkey and catering for people from many different walks of life, it seems that Erdogan intends to crush democracy by stealth. This applies to pandering to Turkish nationals who support his agenda, while alienating all and sundry who oppose his Islamist and dictatorial way of ruling modern day Turkey. Inside Turkey it is clear that journalists and others face severe oppression based on flimsy charges. Therefore, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) stated that “Authorities have imprisoned journalists on a mass scale on terrorism or anti-state charges, launched thousands of other criminal prosecutions on charges such as denigrating Turkishness or influencing court proceedings, and used pressure tactics to sow self-censorship.” The CPJ (http://cpj.org/reports/Turkey2012.English.pdf) further comments that “The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has waged one of the world’s biggest crackdowns on press freedom in recent history. Authorities have imprisoned journalists on a mass scale on terrorism or anti-state charges, launched thousands of other criminal prosecutions on charges such as denigrating Turkishness or influencing court proceedings, and used pressure tactics to sow self-censorship. Erdoğan has publicly deprecated journalists, urged media outlets to discipline or fire critical staff members, and filed numerous high-profile defamation lawsuits. His government pursued a tax evasion case against the nation’s largest media company that was widely seen as politically motivated and that led to the weakening of the company.” Indeed, during the ongoing social and political crisis in Turkey, it is clear that many major media agencies in this nation continue to give scant coverage considering the severity of the crisis. Yet, in light of Erdogan’s installed fear within the media sector then it raises the possibility that many media agencies also fear terrible repercussions. If this is the case, then clearly Erdogan is “a dictaror who is ruling under the disguise of democracy.” Erdogan on his return to Turkey stated “We have never been for building tension and polarisation, but we cannot applaud brutality…They say I am the prime minister of only 50%. It’s not true. We have served the whole of the 76 million from the east to the west….Among the protesters there are extremists, some of them implicated in terrorism…” He then further highlights his power obsession by stating that “My innocent citizens must extricate themselves from the demonstrations.” However, why does he use “my?” Is it because he believes that he controls and owns people – or does this sum up his worldview whereby questioning Erdogan means going against the government of Turkey? If Erdogan really wants to show the people of Turkey that he serves “the whole of the 76 million from the east to the west.” Then he needs to acknowledge that many sections of society fear his dictatorial approach to politics. Yes, it is clearly factual that segments within Turkish society support Erdogan. Yet, it is equally true that many segments within society oppose his monopolistic approach to serious issues. More worrying, the political, social and religious gaps are also increasing under his leadership because opposition forces feel penned in and under threat. In another article by Modern Tokyo Times it was stated that “In a nutshell, irrespective of the positives and negatives of his political leadership in Turkey; it is clear that he is “a dictatorial leader” who happens to be the leader of “a democratic nation.” Thankfully, the institutions of Turkey are not so weak despite certain areas being dismantled in relationship to secularism and other powerful areas. Despite this, you certainly feel that he wants to re-write and re-model modern Turkey within the dynamics of political Islam by stealth. Not surprisingly, it is the ordinary citizens of Turkey which are fed-up by his real intentions therefore the mass demonstrations currently hitting this nation have erupted because of his dictatorial approach to politics within a democratic nation.” Erdogan needs to reduce his rhetoric and to stop intervening in everyday life in relationship to the natural dynamics of Turkish society. Media oppression and ignoring people who feel marginalized will only create more problems for Turkey in the long run. Turkey needs to move forward based on modernity, social diversity, media freedom, religious pluralism and the right for people to demonstrate without the fear of being beaten and killed. At the same time, the rich fabric of Turkish society needs to be protected from the heavy handed policies being implemented by political elites which have a clear Islamist agenda in Turkey. CCN reports that “Demonstrators have demanded Erdogan’s resignation, accusing his government of creeping authoritarianism. The demonstrations have united disparate groups dissatisfied with Erdogan and angry over what protesters and international critics have described as a heavy-handed response by security forces.” “The result has been the biggest challenge to Erdogan and his governing Justice and Development Party during their decade in power.” More powerfully, in the Hurriyet Daily News it was stated that “It is perfectly normal that Turkey has ended up with zero friends a few years after it ventured to have zero problems with its neighbors. A government at war with half of its own people was unable to achieve peace on its borders with foreign countries. The parallelism on the etiology of failure is just too visible: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ideologues have failed to make peace with the “drunken” Turks because of their (dogmatic) Islamism, and they have failed to win their hearts because of their neo-Ottoman arrogance. By a simple twist of fate, they have failed to make peace with Turkey’s neighbors because of their (sectarian) Islamism, and they have failed to win their hearts because of their neo-Ottoman arrogance.” It appears that some politicians in Turkey seek a genuine compromise but it remains to be seen if this logic will enter the mindset of Erdogan. Clearly nobody knows the real impact of the current social and political crisis within the body politic of Turkey. If common sense prevails then secularism and freedom will re-emerge in order to steer this nation during a very delicate period. However, can secularism and democracy be steered under Erdogan given his real intentions? (http://cpj.org/reports/Turkey2012.English.pdf) Media Oppression in Turkey – CPJ Report http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/why-erdogan-cannot-make-peace-with-half-of-turks.aspx? PageID=238&NID=48346&NewsCatID=398 http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/07/world/europe/turkey-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 leejay@moderntokyotimes.com http://moderntokyotimes.com