Can freedom and democracy be expected from a prohibitionist mentality?

Of course not, and it shouldn't be expected either...

While Tayyip was trying to manipulate the CHP into a regime shaped by identity politics with a heavy Islamic tone—where he would hold the reins of the country for life, and his family and inner circle would gain judicial immunity after him—and while he was trying to sell this to the people of my country by dressing it up as a desire for a democratic, civil, and libertarian constitution, the pot boiled over yesterday.

May 1st Labor Day, so to speak, poured lemon juice all over the government, which had been posing as a champion of democracy for the sake of a new constitution.

Yet, they had just rolled up their sleeves to explain how much they wanted a constitution that would not carry the shadow of the 1980 coup, and how libertarian, democratic, and civil it would be!

However, the prohibitionist mentality of political Islam suddenly revealed itself.

When Tayyip did not allow Taksim for the May 1st celebrations in Istanbul, their masks fell off.

The sentences that Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş had memorized to persuade political parties during his constitutional tour also turned out to be a huge lie.

In fact, the psychopathology of this ban and the motivation behind it truly requires explanation.

Let's list them one by one...

The Ministry of Interior, with instructions from the Palace, deployed exactly 42 thousand police officers to block groups wanting to go to Taksim.

As if a major popular uprising were taking place or the country were under a massive terrorist attack...

An undeclared "martial law" was imposed in Istanbul.

The police used plastic bullets against protesters.

217 people who tried to advance to Taksim Square were detained.

Those blocked were not just the protesters and those wanting to march to Taksim.

CHP leader Özgür Özel and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu also got their share of the ban.

The police instruction to "sweep the press" directed at journalists following the developments was reflected on screens during a live broadcast.

As if what happened in Istanbul and the resulting images were not enough to explain the government's view on this issue and show the background of their minds, Tayyip's Chief Advisor Oktay Saral appeared on social media.

With his post, he targeted those who wanted to march from Saraçhane to Taksim Square.

He poured his thoughts on how much he values democracy and freedom into lines by saying, "Democracy is too much for you and those like you who do not recognize law and rules... Either the state leads or the raven feasts on the carcass!"

While Tayyip and the police were coming down on the protesters in Istanbul, he released a festive message as if he were not the one who gave the order for it.

He said, "I congratulate the May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day, which is celebrated all over the world along with our country. I send my greetings and love to all my worker and laborer brothers and sisters who are chasing honest earnings."

The religious and pious glaze on his message did not go unnoticed.

So, why did the government adopt such a prohibitionist approach that would even render the political maneuvers they carried out with great effort to create a new constitution futile?

Or why did they persist in their refusal to take a step back from this?

It would not be wrong to say that a serious fear lies in the background of their minds.

It is understood that this great fear remaining from the 2013 Gezi protests continues to strongly feed the government's prohibitionist mentality.

Even though they are in power politically, they are aware that they have lost public support.

The elections they have won through tricks and schemes until today have not been questioned too much.

However, the wind has now turned against them.

The truth can no longer be hidden.

The anxiety created by the results of the March 31 local elections becoming tangible is causing them to resort to measures seen only in authoritarian regimes.

What if the May 1st celebrations turn into a mass uprising...

What if the opposition masses become more fortified with these demonstrations...

What if it is understood that the AKP has lost its power to govern...

They think that banning Taksim is a show of strength, especially against the opposition. They are implying, "The power of the state is in our hands, watch your step accordingly."

It is already obvious that they have no relationship with democracy, law, human rights, or freedoms.

While they have made the issue of a new constitution a catchphrase, the fact that they even ignored the Constitutional Court's decision regarding Taksim already showed their true faces.

Let us end our article by saying that those who are in a rush to negotiate the constitution with Tayyip need to understand and interpret all of this very well.