Cuneyt Ulsever: Democracy and loyalty!
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 01, 2007 12:39
First, let me relate to you how it was presented in the news: "....Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who celebrated his 54th birthday the other day, was greeted by gestures from MPs from his party in the capital. Faruk Celik, the head of the AKP MPs, told Erdogan 'The birthday present from 354 MPs to you is our own loyalty until the end to you.'" (Zaman newspaper, 28.02.07)
Loyalty is a term which falls easily on the ears no matter where in the world you are. It is an important term, especially when used to express bonds with family and friends. Still, I do not understand it when I hear parliamentary representatives express feelings of "loyalty to the end" to their leader. This is not a statement suitable to a parliamentary representative. I am sure that there were AKP MPs who were also made uncomfortable by this statement.
After all, there is only one statement of loyalty that an MP makes when entering the Turkish Parliament, and that is the oath that he or she makes on his or her first day!
We cannot be loyal to leaders. Leaders can be loved, respected, we can be in awe of their actions and ideas, we can try to emulate them, but we cannot be "loyal to them until the end."
Let's turn this idea around. Let's remember that sometimes "disloyalty" can be an advantage. Let's recall that some of the MPs who are now in the AKP were at one time "loyal" members of the Refah/Fazilet Party. In fact, Faruk Celik, who I quoted above, was at one time the Deputy Head of the Fazilet Party. At that time, their leader was Necmettin Erbakan. Who knows, Celik might have sworn "eternal loyalty" to Erbakan at that time too. Had he though, he wouldn't have been in the AKP now. In fact, it was MPs who were disloyal to Erbakan that gave life to the AKP. And they did well in doing so; they perceived that Erbakan was going in the wrong direction, and, starting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, they split off to form the AKP.
I would love to ask these 354 MPs from the AKP: Can you vocalize all of your criticisms to Erdogan's face without worrying about his reaction? This may be a difficult question to answer during an election year, but I know you are afraid to do so.
And now a question just to Faruk Celik: Can a person really feel in his or her heart true loyalty to someone they fear? Or to ask it another way: Can what you are feeling really be called loyalty? One last note: I really think that Faruk Celik, in expressing this to Erdogan, has belittled the rest of the AKP MPs!
After all, there is only one statement of loyalty that an MP makes when entering the Turkish Parliament, and that is the oath that he or she makes on his or her first day!
We cannot be loyal to leaders. Leaders can be loved, respected, we can be in awe of their actions and ideas, we can try to emulate them, but we cannot be "loyal to them until the end."
Let's turn this idea around. Let's remember that sometimes "disloyalty" can be an advantage. Let's recall that some of the MPs who are now in the AKP were at one time "loyal" members of the Refah/Fazilet Party. In fact, Faruk Celik, who I quoted above, was at one time the Deputy Head of the Fazilet Party. At that time, their leader was Necmettin Erbakan. Who knows, Celik might have sworn "eternal loyalty" to Erbakan at that time too. Had he though, he wouldn't have been in the AKP now. In fact, it was MPs who were disloyal to Erbakan that gave life to the AKP. And they did well in doing so; they perceived that Erbakan was going in the wrong direction, and, starting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, they split off to form the AKP.
I would love to ask these 354 MPs from the AKP: Can you vocalize all of your criticisms to Erdogan's face without worrying about his reaction? This may be a difficult question to answer during an election year, but I know you are afraid to do so.
And now a question just to Faruk Celik: Can a person really feel in his or her heart true loyalty to someone they fear? Or to ask it another way: Can what you are feeling really be called loyalty? One last note: I really think that Faruk Celik, in expressing this to Erdogan, has belittled the rest of the AKP MPs!