Turkish riot police clash with protesters during a demonstration against the Turkish government's crackdown on media outlets on October 28, 2015. (AFP)
Istanbul, Turkey:
Turkey is under fire from alarmed Western allies and global rights groups over the state of media freedom just days before an election that could again leave the country in political limbo.
Riot police stormed two television stations linked to a bitter rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and forced them off air on Wednesday, triggering brawls with staff and demonstrators in Istanbul.
Critics accuse the authorities of seeking to silence dissent ahead of Sunday's vote, which opinion polls say is unlikely to deliver Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) the clear victory it so desperately desires.
"The government has shown today what will happen to this country if we do not put a halt to this oppression on Sunday," Eren Erdem, a lawmaker with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said on Twitter.
Turkey is holding its second election in only five months after the AKP, which has dominated the political scene for 13 years, lost its parliamentary majority in a stunning election setback in June.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu failed over the next weeks to forge a power-sharing government, forcing a new election, but opinion polls are predicting little change from the June outcome.
Controversial court orderWednesday's raids targeted the media operations of the multi-billion dollar Kozi-Ipek conglomerate accused of financing US-exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, a one-time Erdogan ally turned archfoe.
Police were acting on a controversial court order to send in administrators to run the Kozi-Ipek companies as part of a wider "terrorism" probe into Gulen and his followers.
Erdogan accuses Gulen of trying to topple him by persuading allies in the police and judiciary to launch a vast probe into government corruption in December 2013.
In images broadcast live by the targeted stations, police hacked through the gates of the media compound in Istanbul with chainsaws and fired tear gas and water cannon as brawls erupted outside.
Bugun TV and KanalTurk remained off air today.
"Support me or I'll huff and puff and take over your company," was the ironic headline on a column by Ozgur Korkmaz in the Hurriyet Daily News.
"For the last couple of days, Turkey has seen the worst of what a democratic parliamentary system turns into when those in power bend laws as they please in the absence of any kind of checks and balances."
The action came on the eve of Republic Day which celebrates the creation of modern Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.
There has been little comment from Turkish leaders over the case, with Erdogan saying in a television interview Wednesday only that he was confident "justice would do what is necessary," and questioning why Kozi-Ipek's CEO Akin Ipek had left the country in September.
The state of democracy in Turkey and its treatment of journalists have long been a concern of rights groups and Western governments, and is a factor in the country's faltering talks to join the European Union.
Brussels described Wednesday's developments as "worrying".
"We want to reiterate the importance of respect of the rule of law and media freedom," said Catherine Ray, spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini.
"We expect this election to be in line with international and democratic standards."
The US State Department also called the reports out of Turkey "concerning".
"We continue to urge Turkish authorities to respect not just media freedom, but the political process, which includes a vocal opposition," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
Shocking attackRights groups say about 20 journalists are currently detained on a variety of charges, while there have also been a string of prosecutions against journalists, artists and even schoolboys for "insulting" the head of state.
Amnesty International described the raids as "yet another shocking attack on journalists and freedom of expression" in Turkey.
"By replacing news broadcasts with camel films days before a parliamentary election, Turkey's leaders have shown they no longer are interested in even pretending to respect the country's democracy," added Nina Ognianova of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch in Turkey accused the government of taking exceptional measures to silence critical media and crack down on perceived opponents.
"Not since the days of the 1980 military coup have there been such dramatic moves to close down and prevent scrutiny of power."
The AKP is predicted to win between 40 and 43 percent of the vote on Sunday, which would not be enough to secure a majority in the 550-member parliament, forcing it into a reluctant coalition or calling for yet another poll.
"The elections are coming but it could be even more difficult to hear our voices in the next two or three days," said Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) whose election success in June stripped the AKP of its majority.