Turkish democracy at risk of returning to pre-1789 French revolution conditions: CHP

The approval of government-proposed constitutional amendments in the April 16 referendum will bring Turkey's democracy back to pre-1789 French Revolution conditions, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said, criticizing the government for creating an environment in which saying "No" is akin to committing a crime. 

"[If the changes are approved] democracy will to a large extent be suspended. Everything will be decided by one man ... Parliament will lose its ability to legislate. Decisions on the structure and functions of the state will be made solely by the president. From all these perspectives, Turkish democracy will return to the conditions of before the French Revolution," Kılıçdaroğlu told the members of the International Media Freedom mission on March 2. 

The mission is composed of a number of prominent press institutions like the International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), and organized a tour to Turkey to show solidarity with imprisoned journalists and their families. 

In his address to the mission, Kılıçdaroğlu said "around 90 percent" of the Turkish media was under the government's control, but even this is not enough for the government. 
"The state of media freedom in Turkey is one of the most worrying areas. In a country where media is unfree, so are the people, because it means their right to be informed has been taken away," he added.

The CHP head told the mission that over 150 journalists are today behind bars "without even knowing what they are accused of. 

"Depriving journalists of their freedoms gives Turkey the image of an undemocratic country. In the 21st century, imprisoning a journalist for criticizing the government is a shame on...