BY NASUHI GUNGOR
STAR- The picture is getting clearer. Two political parties are serving the same project. The project of a coalition between the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) isn't an ordinary design of domestic politics. On the contrary, it's oriented towards influencing and directing all the developments around Turkey. Whenever we bring up this issue, MHP circles respond harshly. But the MHP's current position prepared by its leader Devlet Bahceli is clear.
Responses to Turkey's natural gas agreement with Iran indicate that we will face a series of tension-filled problems following Saturday's elections. Obviously, we have very serious advantages and strong cards. I would like to re-emphasize that an official who is predominant on the issue of energy is in charge. But this `great game,' which spans from the US to Russia and from Iran to Central Asia, is getting more and more complicated. Thus, the issue of who will govern Turkey during the months and years to come is more important than ever. It would be meaningful to bring a new ruling party model to Turkey. The CHP has always been careful to toe the same line of the US administration's neocons on certain issues such as the Iraq war, Parliament's rejection of US soldiers deploying in Turkey back in March 2003, and Palestine and Hamas. It can't be expected to take a different line after Saturday's elections.
The operation in Iraq is moving towards provoking ethnical religious sectarian differences, rather than an air or land operation. The US administration put aside a lot of money for this purpose. Here, sensitivities about the ethic Azeris living in Iran grow more important. This is one of the important tasks of the MHP, which has been forced to stand next to the CHP. Sensitivities about Azeris in Iran were once taken very seriously in Turkey. But recently, the good sense of people who see the harm Turkey could suffer due to a project to divide Iran has gained strength. The US places great importance on the Azeri card in the Iran crisis. It needs two important tools to work more effectively; firstly, the current Azerbaijani administration. However, the US hasn't found the support it expected from the Aliyev administration. On the contrary, relations between Iran and Azerbaijan are improving rapidly. The second country which places importance on the Azeri card is Turkey. But after Iraq was occupied, Turkish-Iranian relations also started to improve rapidly. The latest natural gas agreement is an important milestone in this.
The government took a very important step. We have to see it by moving outside daily political discussions. Only then we can understand why an alliance of neocons can't govern this country.