Posted on 16 April 2007.
On Saturday, Turkey witnessed one of its republican history’s largest rally. Hundreds of thousands of people — from children to elders, from farmers to artists, from socialists to nationalists — traveled from across the country to Ankara not only to protest a possible presidential run by Turkey’s pro-Islamic prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan but also to affirm their loyalty to the fundamentals of Kemalism.The crowd held flags, carried posters of Ataturk, and chanted anthems while first gathering around Tandogan square to listen to speeches and later marching to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. On the podium were academics, artists, and NGO representatives, but no politicians.”They say that we advocate a coup but we’re only revolutionists. Yet, there is no orange here but only red,” [the color of the national flag] said Birgul Ayman Guler, a professor at the Ankara University, emphasizing that this is a national movement without any external support. Some parts of the speeches also targeted the United States and European Union and aimed at the nationalist sentiments of Turkish people.
Some of the slogans that marked the protests were:
We respect belief but not radicalism
We hope for a president who is secular not just in words but in essence We are aware of not only the”threat” but also of our capabilities
We don’t want an imam as president
The roads to Cankaya (Presidency Office) is closed to Sharia
Turkey is secular and will remain secular.
Those who could not attend the rally showed their support by hanging flags out of their windows.
The thing that struck me most was, instead of anger and hostility, people were fueled with solidarity and serenity – everyone was gracious and showed respect to each other. Ten thousand police officers were deployed just for regular security checks but did not intervene with the protests at all.
The most controversial issue on the protests was the coverage by media. Unlike the international media, Turkish media has been cautious about reporting the rally. Except for a couple of opposition channels, the majority of the media outlets — including the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation — did not broadcast the rally live and showed minor interest in it. Some of the newspapers did not even mention it.
Posted in Culture, Turkey
Posted on 13 July 2007.
Presidential Elections
The political impasse surrounding the presidential elections in Turkey continues. Following the Constitutional Court ruling, the AK Party unexpectedly stepped back, saying that it wants the newly formed government to elect the next president. However, upon the proposal of the opposition leader Baykal that the new president should be someone outside the parliament, PM Erdogan blamed Baykal for not being cooperative and decided to leave the last word to the public. If the people elect the new president, the new parliament will need to pass an urgent law allowing the election of the president by popular vote. It seems that, apart from forming the new government, this parliament is expected to assume many important roles, including deciding on how to elect the new president, whether to cross into Iraq, and how to continue accession negotiations with the European Union.
Parliamentary Elections
10 days to go.. 14 parties will enter the elections. Below is the list of those that are expected to make it over the electoral threshold of 10%. Though the list is in order of popularity, it is not easy to make a guess about the percentages because there isn’t a comprehensive opinion poll reflecting the possible results.
Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Republican People’s Party (CHP) + Democratic Left Party (DSP)
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
and those that might cross the threshold of 10% are:
Democrat Party (DP)
Youth Party (GP)
Independent candidates
For a synopsis of the campaigns and party politics, let me start by quoting Cuneyt Ulsever, a prominent Turkish journalist:”We live in a country where the party in government organizes much more rallies than the opposition parties.” AKP has put great effort into the local party organizations and candidates and is very successful in reaching people. While CHP’s website mainly features the pictures and speeches of its chairman, AKP posted the majority of its candidates’ mobile numbers on the web. In addition to presenting the list of its accomplishments during the last 5 years, AKP has been quite successful in turning out the debate over presidential elections to its own advantage. It brings up the issue in a way that conservative Turks feel offended as Gul’s candidacy was precluded because his wife is wearing Islamic headscarf. However, AKP is highly blamed by the public and the opposition leaders for not being able to deal successfully with PKK terrorism and for failing to communicate effectively with the EU and the United States.
The main opposition party CHP is the stronghold of secularism. Those who see AKP as a threat to the secular republic will vote for the CHP because they believe they do not have an alternative. Yet, most of these people assert”I will vote for the CHP despite Baykal.” Those who lost confidence in CHP argue that the party has lost its traditional social democrat line.
Ultra-nationalist MHP was one of the parties of the coalition government from 1999-2002 but lost popularity because of unsuccessful policies. However, with the upsurge of PKK terrorism and growing resentment with the EU accession process, MHP has regained popularity. One of the controversial propositions the party leader made was that they would execute PKK head Ocalan, who is currently imprisoned.
GP has a rather radical rhetoric, especially in the areas of economics and external relations. According to GP, Turkey should unilaterally renounce its candidacy for the EU. GP leader Cem Uzan and his family were accused of being involved in a large-scale fraud.
Independent candidates, especially from southeastern Turkey, have a chance of getting into parliament as there is not any party that deliberately addresses the interests of Turks of Kurdish origin.
DP is the main center-right party to enter the elections. I think DP will be the choice for those who consider themselves as”secularists” but also find Baykal unsympathetic and destructive for Ataturk’s party.
An important analysis I recall from my university years is that trying to understand Turkey in terms of classical left-right division can be misleading. For an in-depth understanding, we should look into the cleavage between”center” (being the state ideology mainly dominated by secularism) and”periphery” (representing the conservative population). That said, I think debating whether AKP is moving left or CHP is moving toward the center is pointless. What we should consider is whether the upcoming elections will be able to build a bridge between center and periphery and put an end to the polarization of the Turkish society.
Posted in Turkey
Posted on 07 April 2009. Tags: Ankara, Erdogan, EU, European Union, Gul, Istanbul, NATO, Obama, Turkey, United States
ANKARA, Turkey — During his first 100 days in power, as a part of his first presidential visit to Europe, U.S. President Barack Obama chose to come to Turkey, where the United States’ image was damaged by the war in Iraq and the tone set by the Bush administration.
Even before arriving in Turkey, Obama had already made it clear that he gave great importance to Turkey. He said he would keep relations close, as evident at the NATO summit, where he played a very active role in persuading the Turkish side to approve Danish PM Anders Fogh-Rasmussen’s selection as the new secretary general, and during the European Union Summit in Prague, where he urged the EU leaders to accept Turkey as a member, emphasizing that it would be a positive sign to the Muslim world.
Obama arrived in Ankara on April 5 and kicked off with a visit to Ataturk’s mausoleum. He signed the guest book and concluded by quoting one of the most popular sayings of Ataturk:”Peace at home, peace in the world.” In addition to the bilateral talks he held with President Gäl, Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan, and Parliament Speaker Toptan, Obama met with the leaders of the opposition parties. He then addressed the Turkish parliament, where he was called to the podium with an emphasized reference to his middle name, “Hussein.”
Obama opened his speech by calling for “renewing the alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people” and made it apparent that he chose to come to Turkey to deliver a message: “Turkey is a critical ally of the United States. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together €“ and work together €“ to overcome the challenges of our time.”
Obama underlined that the “United States is not at war with Islam and will never be. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject,” and he continued by praising the strength of the alliance and the endurance of the friendship between Turkey and the United States, the importance of Turkey for regional security and stability, and the reforms Turkey undertook over the recent years. Other highlights of his speech included:
- the United States will continue to support Turkey’s central role as an East-West corridor for oil and natural gas
- the United States will continue to support strongly Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union.
- reopening the Halki Seminary (Greek Orthodox Seminary) will send an important signal inside Turkey and beyond in support for freedom of religion and expression and a strong and vibrant civil society.
- the problem between Turkey and Armenia is neither legal nor political but historical. Thus, the problem should be dealt by the Turkish and Armenian people. United States strongly supports the full normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
- the United States strongly supports the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security. In this regard, Turkey can help Israel build security and Palestine strengthen its institutions.
- the United States will continue its support against the terrorist activities of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK)
- the United States look forward to continued partnership and cooperation towards Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan and to counter terrorism.
On one of the controversial issues, when asked about his stance on the “Armenian” congressional bill during a press conference, Obama said, “My views are on the record and I have not changed those views” appeasing his Armenian-American constituency, however he also allowed hope and goodwill for the Turkish side by continuing, that what “I want to do is not focus on my views right now but focus on the views of the Turkish and the Armenian people. If they can move forward and deal with a difficult and tragic history, then I think the entire world should encourage them.”
President Obama attended the reception hosted by Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan in honor of the guests of the Alliance of Civilizations Forum taking place in Istanbul but stressed that the purpose of his visit to Turkey was to appeal the Turkish people. Today, President Obama met with religious leaders and then came together with a group of students and answered their questions.
President Obama’s popularity had reached Turkey even before he did. His visit to Turkey just reaffirmed that the promise of “change” — especially in style — will open a new era for the Turkish-American relations. In addition to his sincerity and constructiveness, his respect for the sensitivities in Turkey was well received by different segments of the Turkish society. Besides the foreign policy importance he attributed to Turkey, his remarks stressing “secularism and democracy” in Turkey clearly showed that he wants to extend the dialogue with Turkey to the parties alongside the ruling Justice and Development Party. He also underlined the importance of improving religious freedoms, freedom of expression, and respect for minority rights. Now, let’s hope that words are put into action and the two countries can achieve the “model” partnership for further security, stability, and prosperity.
Posted in Black Sea, Energy, European Union, Iraq, Middle East, NATO, Politics, Transatlantic Relations, Turkey, United States
