A decade ago, the image of Turkey was that of a country which
was continuously criticised for human rights issues, blamed for
torturing detainees and prisoners and depriving them of fair trial,
and where prohibitions and obstructions in education, media
and politics were rife. Among the reasons behind this unfortunate
image, we can count the interruptions to our democracy by
the coups d’états in 1960, 1971 and 1980, the periods of state of
emergency in counter-terrorism, and failures in economy, education
and health. However, it is a fact that the will and determination
to prioritise human rights was lacking in the political
atmosphere of that period.
Therefore, since coming to power in 2002, the Justice and
Development Party firstly broke the shackles of the minds and
made revolutionary reforms in issues that were regarded as
taboos. For example: the state of emergency, which allows for the
Within different intellectual traditions,
many philosophers have rejected certain
perspectives that suggest a limited and
narrow understanding of human rights,
and have introduced new approaches that
suggest a wider scope.
Human Rights and the Transformation Process in Turkey
suspension of human rights, exists in the legislations of almost all
countries. However, this practice may bring about abuses and bad
practices. The 25 years of state of emergency which was declared
due to terrorism was abolished only 12 days after the formation
of our Government on 30 November 2002. Indeed, being the
first action of our Government, it was a clear sign of our human
rights perspective.