What's this fear of a split country?

We all were taught this. The Ottoman Empire that was broken into pieces, due to foreign and domestic influences, was given as an example, and fear was instilled in us. The Treaty of Sevres was also presented as a symbol of this fear. This was all true of course. The Ottoman Empire shrank and was split into pieces because of poor management as we claimed the young republic led by Atatürk and created a new order. It is only natural that society in this country, having moved through such dangerous periods, needs to be reminded of lessons learned from its history. For I believe we went too far. We only filled the heads of the young with the fear of a split in the country.

Now, 85 years have passed and the world has changed completely. Turkey, compared to the past, has become incredibly powerful and self-confident, but despite all this we still experience the fear that the country will be split. I do not want to argue about whether this fear reflects the truth. For I do not believe this country could be split. And I know that Turkey is strong and this fear is totally insubstantial. But if this fear is present in society and gradually spreads, we need to look for the reasons.

One of the foremost reasons is the proliferation of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The fear of a split has increased among some people due to three reasons. The administration does not take the necessary action on the Kurdish issue. Secondly it withdraws just as it takes the right steps and spreads the impression the armed forces have not obtained any results in their fight against terrorists. And thirdly, the continuation of the wave of terror, of course.

This is why the number of people obtaining a shot gun is increasing. Also increasing is the number of people who hunt PKK members for the sake of saving the country, and those who gang up against people who oppose the ideology of the state. The attitude of the government regarding the symbolization of the headscarf also spreads the fear of a split. The separation of Turkey into secular and pious segments really scares some parts of society.

Underneath the needles and severe criticism of Can Dündar’s film "Mustafa," also lies the fear of a split. Haluk Şahin of Radikal recently wrote in his article about those who fear a split in the country, how they cling to Atatürk as a symbol, and he was right. Whatever reason there might be, they react to an Atatürk shown differently than the one in their heads. "We only have Atatürk left. This administration changes everything, let us leave him untouched," they say. This situation needs to be taken seriously and reacted upon accordingly. In particular, the administration needs to take steps to convert this progression. We should not shut our eyes to a Turkish society living in such fear.

The judiciary cannot bear like this
One of our country’s most important problems is the situation of the judiciary. We have a decaying system. If it is not improved soon, we will be in a bad situation. Moreover, not only do our laws need changing, but at the same time, so does the views of some of our prosecutors and judges. Their interpretation of the law is so outdated that we encounter incredible cases. Besides, there is growing interest among them to act like a person in charge of protecting the country’s territorial integrity. Some prosecutors and judges act on behalf of secularism. Some act to protect the country from the Kurdish issue.

We know what happened to Nurettin Yılmaz. Just because he said on TV that his book describes his experience of torture in a prison in Diyarbakır, the Bakırköy prosecution office started an investigation. The prosecution office said they started the prosecution to punish the torturers, and to investigate Yılmaz and; even more ridiculously, to investigate the producer of the TV program, Barış Pehlivan, on the basis of destructive propaganda. We hear that in many legal cases against people of Kurdish origin, judges legitimize insults against them. Prosecutor Albayrak received a disciplinary punishment for watching MED-TV.

Cases where state and private claimants are in dispute over compensation, usually result in a decision in favor of the state, for the reason of "protecting the state." I could prolong this list further and you would be amazed. The European Community does not say we should change the judiciary system without reason. As long as we are headed in this direction and minds and laws are not changing, the judiciary system will not bear this country any longer.