TRAUMA
Yusuf Kanli

Turkish Daily News
June 25, 2008 Wednesday

Definitely, there is a trauma What is that trauma? Who suffered
what trauma? How intense was it? These and such questions may find
different answers depending on whom they are addressed to.

Including this writer, many people believe that Turkey has been
traumatized over the past two decades because of the separatist
Kurdish terrorism, which could not have continued for so long if this
menace had not been sheltered, tolerated, and directly and indirectly
supported by some of our neighbors and so-called allies. Leaving this
trauma behind, of course, requires intense efforts and a sincere drive
toward national reconciliation, which has to include some bitter pills
such as amnesty, recognition of wider rights for our ethnic Kurdish
population and some other serious reforms, without sacrificing the
national and territorial integrity of the country. This will be a
painful process that we simply cannot avoid undertaking.

It is a fact that this nation has been traumatized by the hypocritical
attitude of the European Union toward Turkey. The vast majority of our
people no longer believe that, even if one day this country fulfills
all the requirements of accession, achieves incredible strides in
completing the demanded massive transformation, compromises on many
key national issues from Cyprus to northern Iraq and even with regard
to the Armenian allegations of genocide, the EU door will be closed.

This immense trauma the Turkish nation was subjected to is indeed
contradictory with the strategic interests of the EU as well, but
some European nations were so traumatized by the EU’s expansion as
well as the progress of monetary union and the spread of Euro that
they have elected some shallow showpeople as leaders. Sooner or later,
of course, realism will prevail and the European nations will wake up
to their strategic interests. Let’s hope that when that date comes
it won’t be too late and there are some Turks still supportive of
this country’s EU accession.

Turkey was traumatized as well by the 1999 killer Marmara quake and the
subsequent 2001-2002 financial, economic and political crisis. Turkey
is traumatized by the ascent to power of political Islam and its
power-obsessed attitudes that polarized the nation in an unprecedented
manner. Indeed, the electoral success of political Islam in the
country in 2002 was just a by-product of the gross disillusionment
and disgruntling of our people with the entire political establishment
and subsequently of a national search for "change."

And, of course there are people in this society who have been
traumatized seeing the bitter reality that, irrespective of the
percentage of votes they might receive in elections, irrespective
of how strong a backing they receive from across the Atlantic as
well as from their allies in Europe against a dignified, secular and
modern Turkish Republic becoming a dignified, prosperous and peaceful
regional power and a member of the EU on the basis of "equal partners."

Closure phobia leads to mental fatigue

The remarks of Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat to the New York Times indeed
reflect the mental fatigue that the post-July 22 developments of the
electoral victory created in the top cadres of the ruling Justice and
Development Party, or AKP. Was not Firat aware that with his "Turkish
society has been traumatized Overnight they were told to change their
dress, their language. Their religious ways were dismantled Societies
without that trauma could not care less how people dress" statements
he would land himself and the AKP in even more serious problems? Did
he not think for one second that perhaps the prosecutor would use
those three sentences as additional evidence in the AKP closure case?

Indeed, Firat’s words testify to why the AKP is facing a closure case.

Firat, the prime minister and other senior figures of the ruling party
are all suffering from a serious "closure phobia" and a resulting
trauma since the high court annulled the constitutional amendments
the ruling party had legislated in hopes of legitimizing the turban
at universities.

A product of "closure phobia," the remarks of Firat have helped
all of us to remember once again not only the immense trauma the
republican reforms produced on the people who had opposed creation of
the Republic, who revolted to carve out an Islamist-Kurdish state and
eventually faced a bitter punishment, but the trauma that the mental
descendants of those rebels are still suffering from, result of the
reforms and the political heritage of Ataturk: Secular, democratic,
modern Turkey.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress