Erdogan's assaults against national minorities in Turkey

Non-Turkish ethnic groups, particularly non-Muslims, often struggle to become a full part of Turkish society. They are considered not only second class but a fifth column.

Turkey’s Kurdish minority, who make up almost a fifth of today’s population, are still denied full cultural rights, and face suspicion amid the ongoing internal conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

The most contemporary example perhaps is the nearly four million Syrian refugees living in Turkey after fleeing the conflict in their country.

It is also worth noting that Turkey’s involvement in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the subsequent targeting of Turkey’s Armenian citizens has put additional pressure on the country’s Armenian minority, now numbering around 60,000.

However, this fear of internal division risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially during the divisive administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The president has consistently demonized a range of domestic groups during his two decades in power, from journalists and the free press to his ongoing campaign against the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party AKP has also aligned itself with the ultranationalist National Movement Party which supports his assaults against what they see as shared enemies.

All the while, Turkish society grows increasingly polarized during pervasive economic troubles and a global pandemic.

For all the recent talk of domestic and foreign policy reform, the AKP government has continued crush opposition through vilification, legal threats, and lengthy jail terms.