BY GUNGOR MENGI
VATAN- A foreign minister is a country's face looking at the international society. A good foreign minister might present a bad regime as a likeable one, but an inexpert foreign minister might cause his country to lose so many things. Ali Babacan is the foreign minister in Turkey, which loses so many things. Speaking at the European Parliament, Babacan recently said that not only non-Muslim minorities, but also the Muslim majority faced certain problems concerning freedoms of religion. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) introduced us to a type of politician who complains about his country abroad. We have become familiar with certain ministers who score an own-goal, but Babacan is above all of them.
Even foreign ministers of military regimes used to do their best to overcome the criticisms against Turkey, let alone dispraising Turkey on the international arena, because what's important is the state's honor and continuity and the state will always remain, even if administrators change. A foreign minister can't dispraise his country, even if his criticisms are based on justifications. Babacan's qualified educational background wasn't enough for making him a good foreign minister. As he wasn't trained in line with the state's traditions and decency, he couldn't have understood the responsibility required by his post. What's more, his statements aren't even incriminating information, but straightforward smear words! What he has done must have embraced supporters of the AKP as well. If a foreigner listening to him had asked what he had done to solve these problems in the last six years of the government, what he would have said?
In this country, all the people worship freely. Nobody can claim the opposite. I wonder what are the problems of freedom suffered by the Muslim minority - not being able to marry four women, inability to ban alcohol or cut a thief's hands or the incapacity of making women wear headscarves or legalizing religious orders? Babacan might be using foxiness to protect his party or trying to make people think that statements against secularism which are mentioned in the closure case against the AKP were actually made in order to defend freedoms of religion, because he also stated that he believed that courts would make a decision in line with the Copenhagen criteria and principles of the Venice Commission and maintain their honorableness. It's like he's cheating a child. In other words, it means that if the court decides to close the AKP, the court won't be honorable anymore. The ruling AKP is making mistakes continuously and what Babacan has done is an embarrassing backbite which can be an additional indictment to the closure case!