One year after a coup attempt in Turkey, liberals are scrambling to defend what’s left of the country’s democracy. They are up against an increasingly assertive government campaign to dismantle many of the institutions and practices that had made Turkey the world’s freest, most open and democratic Muslim state.
Liberal leaders, with massive popular support, have launched what looks like a make-or-break effort against steep odds. On Sunday, more than a million people turned out in Istanbul, joining tens of thousands who had braved brutal heat to take part in a 250-mile, three-week march from the capital Ankara.
The participants in the March for Justice are focusing their efforts on defending the independence of the judiciary, tapping into a growing sense that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP party have subverted the system to serve their political goals. The crowd roared its approval when opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, called the moment a national turning point. “This is a rebirth for us, for our country and our children,” he declared, vowing, “We will revolt against injustice!”