Despite Erdogan’s talk of democracy and freedom, many Turks are dissatisfied with the country’s progress on those fronts, the Monitor reported. Erdogan admitted earlier this year that he knew that his party was eavesdropping on rival parties.
Fifty-seven journalists are imprisoned and Turkey’s standing on the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters without Borders dropped from No. 102 worldwide in 2008 to No. 138 in 2010. Some 7,000 websites are banned.
" … under AKP rule, unprinted books were confiscated, hundreds of journalists were detained – some 60 journalists are in prison – businessmen can't talk because they are afraid.... They [the AKP] want democracy and freedoms for themselves. We want them for the people,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition CHP party, according to Al Jazeera English.
