Vestiges of a thuggish police force.

last updated 8 January 2015

Turkey

Yusuf Kanli

Turkish police are much less thuggish than they used to be, said Yusuf Kanli in Istanbul’s Turkish Daily News. Until a decade ago, the only people joining the force were those who “could not do anything else.” These dregs of society were equipped with pistols and given the authority “to use brute force on others in the name of protecting law and order.” Today, fortunately, reforms have produced a more modern and professional police force. “Many talented people have opted for a career in the police,” and there’s even an academy to train them properly. There is still one area, though, where Turkey’s cops are overzealous: breaking up peaceful demonstrations. Just because a demonstration is labeled “unauthorized” does not mean the police should treat the protesters like dangerous criminals. At a rally by the teachers union last month, for example, female demonstrators were beaten with truncheons. “In democratic countries with an awareness of civil liberties,” police don’t use force against unarmed civilians. If Turkey is ever to join the E.U., its police need to show some restraint.