Turkey’s Parliament approved a controversial law authorizing the oversight of associations and foundations, which will bring to the closure of NGOs and overall damage of civil society. The law predicts NGOs’ boards to be replaced with trustees, and civil servants to conduct annual NGOs monitoring. The critics claim that NGOs’ assets and online donation campaigns could be blocked after inspections to prevent money laundering and prevent terrorism financing. With the new NGO law ratified, the Ministry of Interior is authorized to dismiss NGO heads who are prosecuted for “terrorism” charges, suspend NGOs’ activities, and regularly inspect NGOs in Turkey. According to the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for human rights, the new law would allow the state to restrict civil society activism and target critical voices. Through a petition, NGOs strived to prevent the bill from passing, warning that this would destroy civil society in Turkey. Read more here.
Source: ARAB NEWS