Turkish opposition leader says government is a threat to Turkish freedom

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, accuses the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of being a “threat to Turkish freedom,” Hürriyet Daily News reports on Tuesday.

“The AKP leadership, ruling Turkey since 2002, has been systematically undermining our democracy by exploiting the sectarian ideology of Sunni Islam for political ends. The separation of powers and the checks and balances that were written into the Turkish Constitution have been blatantly brushed aside. The judiciary is no longer independent and the legislature routinely carries out the directives of the prime minister,” Kılıçdaroğlu wrote in an article published by the Wall Street Journal.

Kılıçdaroğlu also blamed the AKP-run government for “extensive wiretapping,” saying it had become “a fact of life.” The Turkish opposition leader also said that Turkey is being increasingly polarized along sectarian, ethnic and gender lines.