Momentous developments in Turkey

None of this frees the government from responsibility in terms of some of its misdemeanors, of course. The attempt to silence elements of the media it finds undesirable by various underhand means is a case in point. Carrot and stick political tactics, which came to the fore within the context of the local elections to be held on Sunday, is another example in this context.

Such matters must not be left to take their own course. It is incumbent on media organizations and all organizations concerned with the freedom of expression and the press, as well as fair representation in the political domain in this country, to continue applying pressure on the government in terms of such issues. Having said this, though, one cannot overlook some of the positive things that are taking place on this government’s watch, if one is to look at developments objectively. Some of these things are so reformist in terms of the realities that govern this country that they contain the seeds of a new Turkey. But first something has to be made clear here about the concept of "reform" as it is used with reference to Turkey in Europe and the United States. It is clear from various statements and reports that emanate from there that issues such as the restrictions on Christian minority foundations, or the fact that the Greek Orthodox seminary in Halki remains closed, have been turned into "litmus tests" by which Turkey’s reformist record is judged.

While it is clear these have an important symbolic significance in themselves and are important issues within their own context, one must not get stuck on these clichŽs that, at any rate, cause sensitivity among Turks Ğ which any government in this country cannot afford to overlook. The basic fact is that even if the EU’s requirements vis-a-vis these issues were fulfilled tomorrow, the number of people that would in real terms be beneficiaries can be counted in the thousands, and not more. There are, however, reformist steps being taken that affect not thousands but millions of people, and these should not be overlooked.

The most important of these concern the Kurdish issue. Given the amount of blood that has been shed over this issue over the past quarter of a century, no one in Europe should underestimate the significance of the steps being taken now to reinforce Kurdish rights. There is of course much that has to be done yet, but even the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, which is considered to be the political wing of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, organization in the Turkish parliament, is admitting the value of these steps. The fact that we are on the verge of even discussing the highly touchy subject of amnesty for PKK members is an indication of how far we have come in this area.

But most significant in this regard is that we have senior retired generals who are openly admitting now that they were wrong in their denialist approach to the Kurdish question and are endorsing democratic means of approaching this subject. Having mentioned senior generals, this brings us to the other momentous example of spectacular developments taking place in Turkey. Namely, the fact that former and active ranking members of the military now find themselves being dragged in front of civilian courts.

They are being asked to answer charges of not just conducting a dirty war within the context of the Kurdish problem, but also of planning coups against the present democratically elected government, as well as other political parties in the Turkish Parliament. Such a thing was unthinkable only a few years ago when some members of the military felt they could act with impunity. Perhaps the most important thing here is that this weeding out process is being conducted with the help of the Turkish military itself, which is fulfilling all its responsibilities presently with regard to the rule of laws and the spirit of democracy. It is clear that all of this is happening as a result of Turkey’s own inner dynamics rather than pressure from abroad, although such pressure when applied appropriately and in a timely fashion is always helpful.

This goes once again to show that change, when it does come in this country, comes from within, and usually due to socio-political factors that are unique to Turkey. We clearly cannot go into the full details of what we have touched on here. But reading the Hurriyet Daily News should help the curious fill in the gaps.

To return to the original point made, however, getting stuck on a tree or two, that may be important in themselves but hardly of great significance in term of the big picture, will mean that one misses to point of what it going on in the forest itself. The bottom line is that Turkey has always been a much more complex country that some have assumed hitherto, and developments are proving this once again.