Nationalist strain deepens as Turkey leans toward Europe
By Yigal Schleifer

Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
April 05, 2005 edition

ISTANBUL – In a country accustomed to political flaps sparked by what
might seem like trivial matters, a recent brouhaha may be the icing on
the cake – literally. During a ceremony in the eastern town of Ezerum
that was hosted by the German ambassador, cakes were decorated as
the flags of Germany and Turkey. But among the guests was the local
chief prosecutor, who warned that cutting into the cake would violate
a law forbidding the desecration of the Turkish flag.

The incident occurred shortly after two boys apparently tried to
set fire to a flag during a Kurdish celebration in Mersin, on the
Mediterranean. Turks responded – egged on by politicians and the
military – by hanging flags en masse. Unions and other organizations
held flagwaving demonstrations and TV stations put a flag in the
corner of the screen.

The military also weighed in, stating that its forces were “ready to
shed their last drop of blood to protect the country and its flag.”

The patriotic outburst was the latest indication of what observers
in Turkey say is a troubling rise in nationalism, one that is linked
to – and could negatively affect – Turkey’s push for European Union
membership. A Dec. 17 EU summit in Brussels set the framework for
talks on Turkish membership, although only after a long period of
negotiations.

“The flag issue is an indication of a new form of politicization [based
on] nationalism, and distrust of a world that many Turks believe is
either rejecting Turkey or openly hostile to it,” says Dogu Ergil,
a political scientist at Ankara University. And in Turkey, he adds,
“It’s very easy to whip up nationalist sentiments.”

Land sales and bestsellers

Recently, a high court overturned a new law allowing for the sale of
land to foreigners after an opposition party asked that it be scrapped
on national-security grounds. In bookshops, Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”
is currently a bestseller, along with several conspiracy-minded books
that see Turkey under attack by external forces.

Meanwhile, after staying out of civilian affairs in order not to
jeopardize Turkey’s EU bid, the country’s military is again making
its voice heard. A few weeks ago, high-ranking military officials
took part in a commemoration for six policemen killed by the British
in World War I. The ceremony had been moribund since the 1950s.

Suat Kiniklioglu, executive director of the German Marshall Fund’s
Turkey office, says Turks appear to be turning inward.

“The current mood is a reaction to an anxiety felt by some people
that some of the values that are important to us are being sold
out by the EU drive,” he says. “Before Dec. 17, the country’s hopes
and forward-looking vision were behind the EU drive. Now people are
becoming confused. There is a fatigue, and nationalism becomes an
escape route.”

Many Turks appear to believe that the EU discussions will only lead
to a dead end. Meanwhile, there is growing concern that in order to
join the EU, Turkey will have to make one-sided concessions regarding
the divided island of Cyprus, accept the Armenian claims of genocide
by the Ottoman Turks in 1915, and accede to EU pressure on dealing
with its minorities.

“These were things that Turks were accustomed not to address all these
decades. But if you want to be in the EU process, you have to address
these issues,” says political analyst Cengiz Candar. “It seems like
it’s very painful for Turks to redefine their identity according to
EU norms.”

Stalled reforms

The growing nationalism comes at a time when Turkey’s government,
led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), is beset by internal
problems that appear to be stalling its reform drive.

The AKP government has yet to appoint a chief negotiator for its talks
with the European Union, while more than a dozen parliamentarians
and one cabinet member have recently resigned from the party.

An EU diplomat in Ankara said the Turkish government has so far been
slow to respond to the resurgent nationalism.

“The lack of leadership by government in the reform-minded, European
direction that we’ve seen previously does raise question marks,”
the diplomat says. “There is a sense in Ankara, and I think also in
Brussels, that this version of Turkish nationalism is incompatible
with the European Union.”