Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 31 2007
Man of the Year: Recep Tayyip Erdoðan
As today marks the end of 2007, our editorial board, after reviewing
the most significant events of the past year and selecting from among
the people who most influenced and shaped the course of these events,
chose Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan as the "Man of 2007."
One of Erdoðan’s most striking achievements was his handling of
the controversial presidential election process in a very efficient
and calm manner, despite the chaotic environment created by the
opposition parties. Although Erdoðan was himself expected to run for
the top state post in the first months of the year and even dropped
some hints that he would, he remained silent until April 24, one day
before the deadline of the presidential nomination procedures; on
that day, he nominated then-Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, whom he
called "his brother," as the candidate for Turkey’s 11th president,
in an altruistic move that surprised even the opponents of his
possible bid. Analysts then said that although the prime minister
actually had intentions of running for the presidency, he gave up on
the idea after considering the country’s well-being in the wake of
the harsh opposition toward his possible presidency and nominated the
soft-spoken and moderate Gül instead, which he thought would draw
less ire from opponents and eliminate the atmosphere of conflict in
the country.
In the wake of a military statement on April 27, which was later
dubbed an e-memorandum, against his Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) during the presidential election process, Erdoðan’s government
stood firmly, telling the army to stay out of politics and mind its
own business and disappointing those who expected the government to
bow to the military’s pressure as previous governments did in the
wake of such threats.
In the historic July 22 elections, which Erdoðan called earlier than
scheduled in a courageous move to defuse the deadlock over the
election, the AK Party won a landslide victory and secured a second
term in power by leaving its rivals far behind. Increasing its votes
from 34.2 percent to 46.6 percent, Erdoðan’s party went down in
history as the second political party in Turkish political history,
after the Democrat Party (DP) of Adnan Menderes in 1954, to win a
second term in power with an increase in votes. Undoubtedly, the AK
Party’s success in its first term, annual economic growth of 7.2
percent, single-digit inflation and the starting of Turkey’s EU
membership process played a crucial role in the party’s victory, as
well as its wise election campaign, which did not capitalize on
unrealistic promises such selling diesel for YTL 1 like its rivals
did, but rather pledged to continue with the EU reforms as well as
economic and social policies aimed at increasing the welfare of the
people. The majority of the votes going to Erdoðan in the country’s
mainly Kurdish Southeast also made his party a representative of the
Kurdish citizens.
On the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
which has been among the stickiest issues that his government had to
face this year, Erdoðan successfully resisted calls for a
cross-border operation from the military by the opposition parties
after the terrorist organization stepped up violence before the
general elections. By resisting such a move at the time, Erdoðan
aimed at prevention of the possible manipulation of the general
elections over a very sensitive issue to the Turkish public as well
as preparing the diplomatic groundwork for such an action first.
Erdoðan then said the PKK had to be dealt with in Turkey first before
a military offensive in northern Iraq, putting an end to cross-border
debates. Only after he prepared the diplomatic ground for such an
operation in the past months, with both he and Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan visiting European and Middle Eastern countries, as well as
the US, which all supported Turkey’s right under international law
for such an operation, Erdoðan in effective cooperation with the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) pressed the button for the military
offensive against the PKK, which was launched in mid-December.
Erdoðan’s careful and determined counterterrorism strategy not only
prevented possible reactions from the international community for
such an operation but also helped Turkey to avert a
military-government conflict over the PKK issue.
In addition, Erdoðan’s launch of studies for a more civilian and
democratic constitution to rid Turkey of the 1982 Constitution, which
was written in the aftermath of the 1980 coup, following July 22
elections and his preparation of social and economic measures to
address the Kurdish problem, as well as legal measures to bring the
members of the PKK down from the mountains, have all won him points
toward being `Man of 2007.’
Certainly Erdoðan fell short of meeting some expectations from his
government. For instance, his second government could not press ahead
with EU reforms speedily to accelerate the country’s EU process
although the public gave his government a stronger mandate in the
elections. Despite insistent calls from the EU to abolish or
radically change Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which
the bloc says violates freedom of speech, many of the country’s
intellectuals, journalists and writers have been prosecuted under
this article for allegedly insulting Turkishness. The article still
remains in the TCK at the end of the day although plans are under way
to amend it. Similarly, Erdoðan’s government, although voicing
determination, has failed to crack down on the gangs and state
officials who were allegedly involved in a series of murders and
attacks, like that of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in January
and the murder of three Christians at a publishing house in Malatya
in April, issues that are closely being monitored by the
international community.
All in all, Erdoðan’s overall performance and his wise decisions as
the prime minister of this country have saved Turkey from many
potential calamities and steered the country into calm waters.
31.12.2007
Today’s Zaman Ýstanbul
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
