Monitoring Matrix Turkey Report 2016: Severely Restricted Space for Civil Society

The year 2016 is marked by rising deadly terrorist attacks in major cities and elsewhere, making security situation increasingly turbulent throughout Turkey. A state of emergency was declared by the National Parliament on 21 July, 2016, three months following the failed army coup attempt to overthrow the government. This unforeseen incident worsened the relations between civil society and the government and caused a severe interruption in policy making. The context of political instability has paved way for a state of constant readiness to curb basic freedoms, including the freedoms of association, assembly and expression, for the sake of the preserving “national security” or “public order”. The freedom of peaceful assembly has become severely restricted, particularly when exercised by anti-government groups. There were instances of excessive use of force by the police, including beating, during peaceful demonstrations during 2016. Read more in TUSEV’s latest Report on the enabling environment for civil society development in Turkey in 2016 – based on the Monitoring Matrix methodology developed by BCSDN and partners – available here.

Source: TUSEV