Civil liberties security

Erdogan's License to Strangle

Unsurprisingly, the West is worried. Only two days after the Turkish elections, State Department Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau spoke of concerns about media freedoms in Turkey, and urged the country to uphold universal democratic values. "The media outlets and individual journalists critical of the government were subject to pressure and intimidation during the campaign, seemingly in a manner calculated to weaken political opposition," Trudeau said. "We urge Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in Turkey's constitution."