Giving Turkey its due
Due to a scheduled visit, I need to pen this article ahead of Prime Minister Erdoğan's Cologne rally. Hopefully, no trouble, conflict or abuse will occur within this period.Holding protests, demonstrations or meetings is the democratic right of everybody and every section of society.Just as this right is true for the AK Party and Erdoğan, it is also true in the case of Alevis and Germans. It is, however, a questionable decision to permit eight different demonstrations simultaneously in a small area, all on the same day. For security's sake there should at least be an acceptable physical distance between rally and protest to keep each other out of arm's reach.The double standard that the West applies against the rest of the world has become a serious and unsustainable burden. As we are well aware, the world is not a rose garden that is free of thorns. It is also understandable that strong countries might wish to preserve their sphere of domination. It is always possible to create an alternative reality for the rest of the world to live in. Exploiting democratic values contributes to the current unequal power struggle.This mindset that has turned assets like scientific monopoly, media networks, freedom of thought and expression and human rights into a weapon for power struggle has started to vanish gradually. The power of expression is a relative concept; and unfortunately, it implies the hegemony of means of expression, rather than rightfulness and justice. Fairness varies depending on your power of expression. If you have influential instruments of communication, it is an easy task to create a perception.At this very point, the problematic relationship between democracy and the struggle for real politics has been gaining attention recently.Those who wrote on the issue of chemical weapons that contributed to the occupation of Iraq were a minority, and they suffered from the silence of others.Iraq had already been occupied when this "knowledge," which was imposed to justify the intervention, turned out to be a PR scam.There are a number of similar tragic examples to be enumerated. Some still believe that the atomic bombs that ruined Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped to stop World War II and to prevent further deaths. However, Japan had already admitted defeat even before these bombs were tossed.As a result of these two incidents alone, hundreds of thousands of people either died or were crippled. As you see, this in no way contributed to the welfare of the world.Using the same communication techniques, the harsh power struggle in Turkey is also being reflected to the world in line with the objectives of certain individuals.The influence of the written or spoken word is about the power it implies, not about what happens in reality. For 13 years now, Erdoğan has strived to strengthen the majority of the public to prevent privileged, oligarchic power. The more the sovereignty passes down to the public, the better the country recovers and the stronger democracy grows. The totalitarian and secularist oligarchy that has withstood the heavy bombardment is constantly verbalizing hate speech, plotting a coup against Erdoğan.Try as they might, Erdoğan always does better at the ballot box.The task of representing Turkey to the world is in the hands of this arrogant and Islamophobic oligarchic monopoly.They run counter to Erdoğan because he is a religionist and rejects their tutelage.Erdoğan's latest path-breaking initiative was about the Kurdish reconciliation process. Which attitude of mind opposes the termination of a clash that claimed the lives of 40,000 people?It is not that easy. The Kurdish conflict is one of the most important mainmasts that keep tutelage alive. Moreover, Erdoğan has launched initiatives in provide an opportunity for autonomous structures to give over a certain amount of control in intelligence gathering and the judiciary. While doing all this, Erdoğan has miraculously improved the economy at the same time.When all these achievements came to a head, a chapter of accidents was opened. Since Jan. 3, 2013, when the reconciliation process was initiated, there has been a nonsensical atmosphere of contention. The Kurds and Alevis are overtly provoked by the oligarchic media to take to the streets. Ironically, they accuse Erdoğan of being a dictator. I don't think that the West is alive to this dichotomy.The German media is overtaking Turkey's fascistic media in terms of its prejudiced attitude against Erdoğan. During his official visit to Turkey, German President Joachim Gauck presented a prejudiced speech in the manner of a teenage activist.Are all of these occurring due to concerns over democracy or developments in Turkey? If an uprising erupts in Turkey, like the one seen in Ukraine, is there anyone who will derive benefit from this? If so, no one would want Turkey to turn into Egypt or Ukraine, nor does this bear fruit for anyone.However, the one party that causes the most grievous harm is the West that manipulates democratic values for real politics.
Last Update: May 27, 2014 03:59