Spain remembers the role of Adolfo Suarez in the Spanish transition to democracy, while Turkey now moves to ban YouTube
Anna Sonny, 28 March 2014
Adolfo Suarez, the former prime minister of Spain who played a key role in Spain’s transition to democracy in the post-Franco era, has died at the age of 81.
Suarez and his party, the Union of the Democratic Centre, presided over Spain’s transition from an authoritarian dictatorship to a fully-fledged democracy. General Francisco Franco had taken control of Spain in 1939, at the end of a bloody civil war between left and right-wing extremists. His fascist dictatorship held on right up until his death in 1975. Under an authoritarian rule that lasted deep into the 20th century, Spain faced oppression in all spheres, from the repression and intimidation of political opponents, heavy media censorship, a ban on all languages except Castilian, and a huge adoption scandal ; in a joint scheme with the Catholic Church, doctors, nurses and registrars, the state engineered the theft of thousands of children – taking them away from their biological mothers, switching their identities and selling them to other women.
After Franco’s death, King Juan Carlos appointed Adolfo Suarez, who was 43 at the time, making him Spain’s then-youngest prime minister, to manage the transition. Suarez then set about undoing the entrenched fascism that had hardened Spain’s political system under Franco. He legalised political parties, including the communists, legalised trade unions and declared an amnesty for political prisoners. In 1977 he called the first free elections in Spain since World War Two; his party won, and he then oversaw the adoption of Spain’s constitution in 1978. Suarez served as prime minister of Spain until 1981.
But this week while Spain has remembered a key player in its move to democracy, across the Mediterranean Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to disregard it in his own country. Following a ban on Twitter last week, Erdogan has now moved to block YouTube after an audio leak of a high-level meeting about possible military action in Syria appeared on the site, with some users reported blocked access this week.
Erdogan is projecting social media as an evil, and is pursuing his clamp down on it with fervent intent. But preventing the spread of information in this day and age is nigh on impossible and a ridiculous task to undertake, especially since many Turkish citizens have found ways to circumvent the ban anyway. Erdogan is facing widespread international criticism but municipal elections coming up on March 30th will be a chance for Turkish citizens to democratically express their opinions on Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic rule.