Is Turkey on the fast track to fascism?

Cengiz Candar

Riot police stand guard in front of a courthouse during a gathering to protest against the arrest of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2RWR1 — Riot police stand guard in front of a courthouse during a gathering to protest against the arrest of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, Nov. 4, 2016. — REUTERS/Sertac Kayar

An email I received around noon today from a young Turkish academic with impeccable credentials, whom I know very closely, ended with the following precautionary note:

“*PLEASE — don't forward the email; only copy and paste if you would like to share and do not include my name in it.”

Naturally, I am withholding his name, but will share most of his message:

“This is an email sent on Friday morning, Nov. 4. I'm in Istanbul, a city of 18 million people and I cannot access Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Periscope or YouTube — our basic tools of daily communication.

Is Turkey on the fast track to fascism?

The July 15 coup in Turkey failed, but for many citizens, the country's upheaval carries all the signs of a regime change nonetheless.

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