Who Would Baykal Cooperate With?

BY EMRE AKOZ
SABAH- Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that if the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is closed, there will be serious consequences for Turkish-EU relations. Babacan said this, but actually this warning was made by leading EU politicians, who are not so sensitive about secularism as some of us are. In the EU, a party can be closed only if it defends or supports violence or is clearly racist. So what will the EU do if the AKP is closed? It will say that it was unable to make our country a member, at least for now, and suspend our membership talks. This decision would have many side effects, for example, international rating agencies would cut Turkey's rating and our debt would rise. Investors who see a cloudy future for Turkey would send their money to other countries, and unemployment will worsen.

What sort of a future do people who support AKP closure dream of? We can divide them into two categories: First, those who say that if AKP was closed, Turkey would continue its EU membership bid. These people are risking a five-year political and economic crisis, because a Turkey which has lost its EU bid will have to face the sanctions already mentioned. Who could resist this? Secondly, there are those who say that if AKP was closed, we would break off from the EU. These people know what they're doing. Those who support the Ergenekon probe (into a criminal gang) fall into this group, directly or indirectly. They use such attractive slogans as `full independence.' They influence the people with their so-called fears such as that we're losing secularism.

I've always wondered what's the use of this case. I'm asking this because such things sooner or later help some global power. Who would closing the AKP and Turkey moving away from EU membership help? If two parties, namely, the AKP and the Democratic Society Party (AKP), which together won 90% of the votes in southeastern Anatolia, are closed down and Turkish Kurds grow more distant and the terrorist PKK rises again, who stands to benefit most from this? In sum, which great power would want Turkey exhausted, hurt and isolated?

Now let's think about the statements made by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal in terms of this question. Baykal claimed that the AKP is cooperating with the West for its own future, so Erdogan is different from outlawed Welfare Party (SP) leader Necmettin Erbakan, because Erbakan supports an ideology called National View, and Erdogan favors cooperation. Baykal added that Erbakan paid the price for supporting National View, and now Erdogan is trying to reap the benefits of supporting cooperation. Baykal's claim is very reasonable. Yes, the AKP had been cooperating with the US and EU since 2002. So, let me ask you again: Who does Baykal want to cooperate with? If it's neither the EU nor the US, then who? Can somebody answer this without making speeches about `independence'?