THE AK PARTY AND A GRAB-BAG OF SURPRISING MOVES
By Huseyin Gulerce

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 17 2007

There is an effort at hand to polarize the Turkish landscape prior
to the general elections into two camps: the AK Party, and those
against them.

This effort, which is at complete odds with the tolerance and spirit
of compromise which define democracy, is spurred on by the resulting
tension. During this period, in which President Sezer, the Higher
Education Board (YOK) and the Turkish military headquarters are taking
clear sides, it is also noticeable that there are efforts to make
fear a dominating force in society. What a giant contradiction in
terms it is that in this republic, while the current administration
tries its best to eliminate fears and declares its determination to
fulfill the general will of the people, an elite which sees itself as
the established status quo of the republic complains about the same
will of the people. The complaints made by this same faction about
the proposal that the people elect the president directly have laid
bare the enormous contradictions in this situation.

A new social engineering project — an orchestrated psychological
warfare operation — is being carried out, using the AK Party itself.

The charges and promises are varied: A case calling for the party’s
closure will be opened up… A non-directly ordered coup could take
place… if the AK Party comes to single-handed power again, they
won’t be able to establish a government… What kind of country is
this country, Turkey, experiencing all this turbulence, but also in
the middle of the EU accession process?

Actually, this is all fine. Democracy works just like litmus paper,
showing everyone’s true colors in the end. Interesting to see how
many democracy imitators there really were after all. Personally,
I believe the AK Party has learned a lot from this period. They no
doubt see more clearly how important it is to stand strong behind
your ideas and beliefs. Yes, sometimes standing strong costs a lot,
but the price of bowing is even higher. These days in Turkey, standing
strong and straight means not distancing yourself from democracy. It
means not arousing any doubts about your democratic stance. From
this perspective, it was noticeable this last week that the AK
Party and the CHP, which agree on nothing else, came to an alliance
on the constitutional change with regards to independent candidates
for Parliament having their names on voting ballots. Yes, there is a
game being played using the AK Party. The strongest weapons possessed
by the AK Party to combat the effects of this game are tolerance,
the embracing of all sides and a democratic stance.

For example, the writers, academicians, and sociologues can criticize
the back-to-back meetings. But the AK Party leaders, even if they
think differently on their insides, need to react tolerantly to these
meetings as a democratic response. This is the attitude required in
not turning the city squares over to tension.

The AK Party could pull out some surprising moves to respond to the
status quo protectors, who are aiming to attack with tension and
fear. Since, when we become full members of the EU, we will have
to work with those who don’t share our own beliefs and thoughts,
the sharing of sovereignty, whether or not EU membership actually
takes place, is a reality in today’s world. That being the case, the
AK Party must even now show their capacity for sharing leadership
responsibilities. To this end, the MP candidate lists presented
by the AK Party on June 4 to the High Electoral Boards must be like
documents underscoring their will to share and compromise. For example,
why should our Alevi citizens not be represented on those lists? In
fact — and I know even as I write this that we are offending —
why shouldn’t there be Armenian, Greek and Jewish citizens on those
lists? Why shouldn’t the whole world be reminded that these lands are
the cradle of tolerance and compromise? Of course, room should not be
made for people inclined to abandon the party tomorrow, or the next
day. But let there be a sincere and democratic stance placed firmly
in the center for everyone to see.

Wouldn’t it be fun to watch the surprise of the status quo supporters
then?