Demons of Past Haunt Turkey as 770 People’s Assets Frozen
Turkey’s rulers moved to freeze the assets of 770 citizens (living abroad) on dubious legal grounds. It reflects a practice that never fades into oblivion both in the country and the world.
On Friday, the Turkish government moved to freeze the assets of 770 citizens over alleged terror links. At least 454 of the targeted victims are affiliated with the U.S.-based Muslim cleric’s organization, designated by the Turkish authorities in 2016 as an outlaw outfit. However, the official rationale presented in the Official Gazette with a publicized list of the targeted figures is far from convincing people even with a rudimentary knowledge of the state of affairs unfolding recently in Turkey’s ever-shifting political context. To begin with, this massive assault on people’s private properties on dubious legal grounds is not unprecedented. On the contrary, the historical precedents of wealth grab through political channels have unfortunately been well established through the various phases of modern republican history.
Historical Context
It would be prudent to tackle the issue in a larger historical context before wading into the peculiar nature of the political war on…
