Removing ’How happy is he who can say I am a Turk’ signs

The government has launched a project for southeast villages to reclaim their original Kurdish names, endorses the formation of a Kurdish Language Research Center at Istanbul University and previously lifted a ban on giving newborn babies Kurdish names, creating a positive impact.

New moves are being made one after the other. There is one more. Banners carrying quotations from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, like "How happy is he who can say, ’I am a Turk’" or "Be proud, work enthusiastically and trust yourself" will be removed by the governor’s offices in provinces heavily populated by Kurds. Justice and Development Party, or AKP, deputies of Kurdish descent had often brought up the issue at party meetings, saying, "You cannot force a Kurd to say ’I am a Turk.’" The AKP’s Kurdish deputies went to the party administration and said that this step, along with the name change, would create tremendous "psychological relief" in the region.

Months ago, a top-ranking party officer (now appointed as a minister) told me during a conversation in Parliament: "Kurds were treated as if they did not exist. They were labeled ’black wolves’ or ’mountain Turks.’ For years, Kurdish citizens were forced to recite ’How happy is he who can say, "I am a Turk," which was even written on mountains. If a man says, ’I am a Kurd,’ can you force him to say, ’I am a Turk’? Through the whispering in Parliament, I see that the AKP government has conducted studies to stop propaganda based on slogans that create psychological pressure on Kurdish people living in the region. Apparently, the "How happy is he who can say, ’I am a Turk’" move will soon to be introduced as part of a hoped-for solution to the Kurdish issue. Let’s see how it will be received and what new moves will be made.

SECOND ARTICLE

Why can the losers not bid farewell?

In Turkish politics, we often witness the "return of the losers." We have seen many times that the politicians who lose elections find a way to come back to the political arena. The last example was Deniz Baykal’s return in 2001 after his Republican People’s Party, or CHP, lost in the 1999 elections and fell below the national threshold.

These days, the number of "returning losers" is increasing. Both the Democrat Party, or DP, leader Süleyman Soylu and the Democratic Left Party, or DSP, leader Zeki Sezer resigned after their parties’ election failures, but both have decided to become candidates once again. Hüsametting Cindoruk, who is more than 70 years old, and Necmettin Erbakan, who is over 80, are also among those who cannot say farewell to politics. Although he is not a candidate, Erbakan is trying to orchestrate his party from behind the curtain. Older politicians advise young ones, saying, "Knowing when to quit is a virtue." But the picture shows that is not easy. Why can losers not leave?

THIRD ARTICLE

High heels on the red carpet

The Parliament Presidential Council discussed the removal of red carpets, with some party representatives saying they generate bacteria and dust and eventually create illnesses. But female deputies raised objections, saying, "We are wearing high heels and it is quite difficult for us to walk on marble ground.

Carpets make easy for us to walk and prevent us from falling." This was enough to convince the male deputies in Parliament. Female members of Parliament will continue to walk on the red carpets, wearing their high heelsÉ