Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 25 2009
Peace-sick
by DOGU ERGIL
What is happening in this country? It was not long ago that we were at
odds with all our neighbors. Those were the days when we knew who our
friends and foes were. Foes made us feel comfortable in a world in
which we knew what to do. Constant confrontation made us feel like an
`army nation,’ as many leaders were proud to say, and this legitimized
the tutelage of the military in public affairs.
Now everything is topsy-turvy. We are not on the brink of war with
Greece. We are not protesting Bulgaria for oppressing and assimilating
our Turkish brethren living in that country. We have waived the visa
obligation with Syria. We are rapidly integrating our economy with
Iraq, especially its Kurdish north. Iran is coordinating its maneuvers
against terrorism with us and expects Turkey to help tone down the
harsh rhetoric of the West against its nuclear program. Last but not
least, we have signed protocols to normalize relations with Armenia,
mutually demonstrating enough maturity by refusing to be prisoners of
the past.
This is too much, too fast. The old bureaucratic elite and the
political class of Turkey, together with a part of the people at large
who believe that statecraft is the art of maintaining the status quo,
are baffled and horrified. The world they came into and were
conditioned to live in is waning before their eyes.
This is not the full extent of change in the making. We are making
peace with the Kurds on either side of the border. Those Kurds were
the main culprits in the National Security Document prepared by the
National Security Council that guided our national defense policy. I
do not know about the present, but only a few years ago it had been
seen by only a handful of people at the top, excluding most of the
Cabinet ministers. Then came along the initiative to reconcile with
non-Muslim minorities and lastly, reform in religious teaching was
demanded by the prime minister.
What is happening? `Have we lost a war?’ This is the exact wording of
a question in one of the nationalist blogs. This much change is
perceived as dissolution or disintegration by some circles, rather
than renovation or normalization. For them constant conflict is the
normal state of things. They really have a hard time grasping the fact
that a system avoids lengthy conflict and dissonance because it puts
the survival of the system at peril. Either the state of conflict or
the system will perish.
This simple truth is acknowledged by the incumbent government of
Turkey. They have also read international signs which necessitate that
Turkey be a stable country in the midst of unstable regions that are
rich with natural resources badly needed worldwide. Turkey is expected
to be an energy hub and a democratic country that will be an exemplar
for other Muslim countries run by authoritarian or totalitarian
regimes.
In short Turkey’s value has gone up, but those who claim to value
their country more than others are unaware of this reality. They can
be excused, however, for the simple reason that they have been brought
up with the belief that `a Turk’s only friend is another Turk’ without
really questioning it. If they looked around they would see that Turks
are mainly fighting with other Turks. The main targets of their wrath
are the difference that another Turkish group has or represents. That
is why one ought to say to these people, `Hey, we have not lost a war,
but we may finally be winning the peace.’ (Thank you, Demiray Oral, of
Taraf.)
The irony in the whole affair is that the government that is behind
this multifaceted political agenda was looked upon as fundamentally
Islamic and too xenophobic. This is what our secular, Western-oriented
and `modern’ segment of society believed then, as it does now, to a
great extent. However, they now have an ally, namely the Israeli
elite, who began to express their concern for the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) government as being Islamist and
anti-Western. We know politics makes strange bedfellows, but it seems
it also makes conjectural prayer groups who chant the wrong verse.
State actors are gradually leaving center-stage and civilian actors
are taking their place. From the way the path is laid by the AK Party
government, new political forces will walk into power (at least share
power) in the near future. These will never be the opposition parties
(the Republican People’s Party [CHP] and the Nationalist Movement
Party [MHP]). Their time is over; they belong to Turkey’s past. Their
only political instrument is the dissemination of fear, suspicion and
grief. Yet, we are not abandoning anything to grieve about.
If the AK Party and its allies in civil society succeed in changing
the military-made Constitution (1982) together with the political
party and election laws, there is no doubt that Turkey will
politically become a much more versatile country and its democracy
will be much more competitive. Only then can we talk about `catching
up with contemporary standards’ with which we can set our potential
into motion and strengthen any alliance or partnership we become a
part of.