The authors also complained about official pressure against journalists critical of President Erdogan and his government, the newspaper wrote.
These journalists “are being pressured through investigations into their articles, wiretapping of their phones, accusations of disseminating terrorist propaganda and espionage, and detentions,” the manifesto said.
The authors slammed Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party's Syrian policy, claiming that political elites are using the civil war there to gain points in domestic politics and turn the country into a presidential republic.
The declaration has been signed by numerous academics and individuals.
Meanwhile, a number of leading politicians and academics issued a petition against the ongoing Islamization of the country.
In an interview with Sputnik, Kemal Okuyan, a senior member of the Turkish Communist Party and Hüseyin Aygün, a lawyer, complained about society’s failure to resist the government’s attempts to turn the country into a religious state.
“The official demand for mandatory Friday prayers in mosques flies in the face of people leading a secular way of life, both Alawites and Christians. However, none of our political parties have complained about this, Kemal Okuyan said.
“We calling on people to stand up for their rights and resist provocations by Erdogan’s administration which is chummy with al-Nusra terrorists,” Hüseyin Aygün added.
He also blamed the recent blasts in downtown Ankara on President Erdogan who has spent the past five years supplying arms to each and every terrorist group in Syria and training their fighters.
Kemal Okuyan pointed to the support Erdogan’s policies enjoyed among “serious local and international players.”
“The Justice and Development Party would have never managed to stay in power for so long without the support it’s been getting from Big Business representatives both in and out of the country. There is a direct link between reactionary policies, the Islamization of the country and the domination of these international monopolies,” Kemal Okuyan emphasized.
