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Turkey’s red map!
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Some time ago, I was talking with Liberal Democrat Party, or LDP, leader Cem Toker. "Did you see that red map of Turkey?" he asked. First I thought he was referring to a map showing areas of the country affected by a serious health epidemic or such.
"What red map?" I asked in curiosity. "The map of Turkey on which provinces with total alcohol ban marked with red, provinces where there is only ban on alcohol at municipal facilities marked with yellow and the few provinces where there is no ban on alcohol are marked with white!" he said.
He said he read in a report that the situation was so serious that excluding few hamlets in the Black Sea and Mediterranean coastal areas and some districts in the Thrace, the map was almost entirely red with some yellow exceptions.
I doubted accuracy of what he was telling me though I was never convinced with the "exceptional development" clich response of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government to reports of violence against those consuming or selling alcohol in Ankara, Istanbul and elsewhere and its outright rejection as fabrication those reports that AKP municipalities were creating "red zones" in cities where no alcohol could be served even by private restaurants.
19 white cities
After some research, I found that report as well. Antalya, Artvin, Bilecik, Bartın, Çanakkale, Edirne, Eskişehir, Hatay, Kırklareli, Mersin, Muğla, İzmir, Nevşehir, Ordu, Sakarya, Sinop, Tekirdağ, Yalova and Zonguldak. Nineteen cities all togetherÉ Why I listed these cities? According to that report, if the situation has not further deteriorated since the end of August, these are the remaining 19 provinces of Turkey where at municipal and public restaurants and clubs alcohol is "still" being served; municipal police are not "yet" applying "methods of persuasion" to stop shops selling alcoholic products or municipalities are "still" renewing licenses of private restaurants and cafs so far still serving other alcoholic products to their customers.
In six provinces Ñ Ankara, Bursa, Denizli, Düzce, Istanbul and Manisa Ñ there is no alcohol ban at public restaurants, but they are not served in municipal premises, restaurants and clubs, the municipalities are either creating immense difficulties or rejecting right away extension of licenses of private restaurants and clubs offering alcoholic products to their customers. The remaining 56 provinces are totally "alcohol free" and in none of them there is a municipal, public or private restaurant or club that serves alcoholic products.
Mind you, this writer is no alcoholic; he is very much aware of the social problems related to alcohol consumption and in no way is in a bid to defend the rights of the alcoholics. Yet, if over the past six years the "non-alcohol" program that started first some 15 years ago with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan banning alcoholic products from municipal facilities in Istanbul when he became mayor of that largest Turkish city has spread such rapidly over the past six years rule of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in the country and that now only 19 out of 81 provinces of the country do not have ban on alcohol consumption at municipal and public restaurants and clubs is just a demonstration of an alarming imposed and systematic lifestyle change campaign.
Copenhagen criteria vs. Ankara criteria
Hugh Pope of the International Crisis Group was in Ankara Tuesday for a round-table discussion on the recently released "Turkey and Europe: The decisive year ahead" report. Pope was worried with the slow pace of Cyprus settlement talks, let up in Turkey’s reform drive and a potential road crash in Turkey-European Union relations in the second half of 2009 when European leaders make an "evaluation" of Turkey’s compliance with the Copenhagen criteria and the two conditions set at the opening of the accession talks Ñ "normalization of relations with all EU member countries" and implementation of the additional protocol, that requires Turkey open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriots. He was particularly keen on stressing that the danger of a breakdown in Turkey’s EU accession process would be especially great if there was no Cyprus settlement in 2009, though he was "hopeful."
However I was more worried with the "Ankara criteria" that was painting the Turkish map slowly, but steadily, in red.
He said he read in a report that the situation was so serious that excluding few hamlets in the Black Sea and Mediterranean coastal areas and some districts in the Thrace, the map was almost entirely red with some yellow exceptions.
I doubted accuracy of what he was telling me though I was never convinced with the "exceptional development" clich response of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government to reports of violence against those consuming or selling alcohol in Ankara, Istanbul and elsewhere and its outright rejection as fabrication those reports that AKP municipalities were creating "red zones" in cities where no alcohol could be served even by private restaurants.
19 white cities
After some research, I found that report as well. Antalya, Artvin, Bilecik, Bartın, Çanakkale, Edirne, Eskişehir, Hatay, Kırklareli, Mersin, Muğla, İzmir, Nevşehir, Ordu, Sakarya, Sinop, Tekirdağ, Yalova and Zonguldak. Nineteen cities all togetherÉ Why I listed these cities? According to that report, if the situation has not further deteriorated since the end of August, these are the remaining 19 provinces of Turkey where at municipal and public restaurants and clubs alcohol is "still" being served; municipal police are not "yet" applying "methods of persuasion" to stop shops selling alcoholic products or municipalities are "still" renewing licenses of private restaurants and cafs so far still serving other alcoholic products to their customers.
In six provinces Ñ Ankara, Bursa, Denizli, Düzce, Istanbul and Manisa Ñ there is no alcohol ban at public restaurants, but they are not served in municipal premises, restaurants and clubs, the municipalities are either creating immense difficulties or rejecting right away extension of licenses of private restaurants and clubs offering alcoholic products to their customers. The remaining 56 provinces are totally "alcohol free" and in none of them there is a municipal, public or private restaurant or club that serves alcoholic products.
Mind you, this writer is no alcoholic; he is very much aware of the social problems related to alcohol consumption and in no way is in a bid to defend the rights of the alcoholics. Yet, if over the past six years the "non-alcohol" program that started first some 15 years ago with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan banning alcoholic products from municipal facilities in Istanbul when he became mayor of that largest Turkish city has spread such rapidly over the past six years rule of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in the country and that now only 19 out of 81 provinces of the country do not have ban on alcohol consumption at municipal and public restaurants and clubs is just a demonstration of an alarming imposed and systematic lifestyle change campaign.
Copenhagen criteria vs. Ankara criteria
Hugh Pope of the International Crisis Group was in Ankara Tuesday for a round-table discussion on the recently released "Turkey and Europe: The decisive year ahead" report. Pope was worried with the slow pace of Cyprus settlement talks, let up in Turkey’s reform drive and a potential road crash in Turkey-European Union relations in the second half of 2009 when European leaders make an "evaluation" of Turkey’s compliance with the Copenhagen criteria and the two conditions set at the opening of the accession talks Ñ "normalization of relations with all EU member countries" and implementation of the additional protocol, that requires Turkey open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriots. He was particularly keen on stressing that the danger of a breakdown in Turkey’s EU accession process would be especially great if there was no Cyprus settlement in 2009, though he was "hopeful."
However I was more worried with the "Ankara criteria" that was painting the Turkish map slowly, but steadily, in red.
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