Democracy Is The Only Way

BY TAHA AKYOL
MILLIYET- The government is standing firm against the General Staff's declaration. This situation is an indicator of the power gained by democracy in Turkey. Let alone political death sentences, nobody has ventured to close Parliament for a quarter century. But until recent years, when the General Staff made a `harsh statement,' governments would fall and prime ministers who were humiliated openly by the General Staff used to reply gently that `just like everybody else, the military also speaks in democracies.' But today, the government is reminding the military of its place in the Constitution. The economic and social level Turkey has attained makes democracy the only way.
In the past, people planning interventions gave no thought to the impact on the stock market, because there was none. They also didn't used to consider if society would oppose such intervention, because masses of villagers were unable to criticize and the elite was enmeshed in the official ideology and disconnected from society. Meanwhile, the intellectuals were single minded. Today, the economy is working and developing not through remote control, but by the market. Market rules reject not only political intervention, but also military intervention. In Turkey today there are not only Kemalists, but also liberal, socialist, conservative, and social democratic intellectuals; identities are becoming clear, and a Greens movement will develop as well. In such a diversified and developed Turkey, thinking that secularism would be lost is a totally irrational scare tactic. However, this is a social and psychological reality which expresses itself in mass rallies.
Let's consider all this:
The government's standing firm against intervention is a modern, democratic stance. It shows the triumph of the civilian will in Turkey.
The government should take certain steps to dispel tensions and such scare tactics. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) should be more open to the center, and no marginal voices should come out of the party, and so party discipline should be strengthened. Concerns over education should also be addressed.
It's best politically to wait for the Constitutional Court's ruling on the presidential election, but no matter how it rules, the government should immediately hold elections. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who obviously deserves to become president, should win the office by being elected.
The official ideology and Kemalists should also know that modernization inevitably creates social diversity. `Different' citizens who pay their taxes and sometimes pay the ultimate price defending their country have as much right as anyone else to vote, be elected and be appointed as government officials. Treating the masses as `unfortunate citizens' would divide the country. The way to strengthen such vital, basic values as national unity and the unitary state is to strengthen the spirit of tolerance and coexistence.
Speaking against racial discrimination, John F. Kennedy once said that there tolerance and compromise are the basis of American unity. These words apply to all societies equally.