TV HOSTS NOTE "EXUBERANCE" IN TURKEY’S REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATIONS

NTV Television, Turkey
Oct 29 2007

The NTV Television Network in Turkish at 1815 gmt on 25 October airs
its Monday-Thursday show "Difference of Interpretation" in the usual
format of a point-counterpoint discussion of selected current topics
by programme hosts Emre Kongar and Mehmet Barlas.

The two hosts begin the show by sending Republic Day greetings to their
viewers. Both hosts agree that this year’s Republic Day celebrations
are more "exuberant" than in the past, partly because of a sense that
"the integrity of the nation is threatened" by "terrorism."

Kongar elaborates further and says that "reactionism" and "PKK
terrorism" together with "allegations of Armenian genocide" pose
"serious threats to the secular republic". He says that he agrees
with the criticisms of "the proponents of a second republic" about the
"flaws of the current system", but disagrees with their charges that
these flaws are the result of "mistakes made during the one-party
period in the first 22 years of the republic".

Barlas says that Turkey is the only republic formed after World War
I that has remained virtually unchanged since then and calls this "a
miracle". He says that Turkey is "an island of stability" and praises
the progress that has been achieved in the last 84 years. He adds,
however, that Turkey must ask why its per capita GDP is still half
of Greece’s.

Kongar reviews major developments in Turkey since 1945 and blames many
of Turkey’s current social and economic problems on the Democrat Party
and its successors. In this context, he reads extensive passages from
his recent book, emphasizing the tendency of these parties to promote
religion and religious education.

Barlas objects to Kongar’s remarks that "good foundations were laid"
in the first 22 years of the republic and says that people must be
free to "scrutinize" the "totalitarian system" that existed at the
time. Kongar agrees that "criticism of Ataturk must be possible"
but defends Ataturk’s actions in the 1920’s as being necessary for
the conditions of that time.

The heated discussion that ensues ends when Kongar notes the time
and closes the show at 1835 gmt.