BY ESER KARAKAS
STAR- I've been writing for a long time that Turkey's greatest problem is normalization. This process means moving as close as possible to modern legal values in institutions and policies and finding solutions as part of universal legal and economic norms. There might be certain differences and problems stemming from this region's history, but using excuses about these differences to avoid 'normal' solutions is useless. There are preconditions for entering the process of normalization. Turkey has a series of problems that I'll mention below, which I think are very meaningless, and we can't make any progress on normalization without overcoming these problems. Actually, there's a great consensus about finding some solution to these problems, but the problem lies in how to implement such solutions.
Some supporters of the status quo argue that not solving these problems is the best solution, but I think they should have little to say in the political life of such a dynamic, young population. Actually, our problems are no secret. Everybody knows that these problems are undermining us, but we run into trouble when people interfere with solution efforts. Here are a few of these problems which come to mind: changing the 1982 Constitution, the Cyprus issue, our relations with Armenia, the Kurdish/southeastern/northern Iraq issues, the deadlock in our European Union membership talks, the Alevi issue.
Let's consider for a moment: A Turkey which has reformed the 1982 Constitution based on democratic values, solved the Cyprus issue, normalized relations with Armenia, largely solved the Kurdish issue on the basis of constitutional citizenship, marginalized PKK terrorism, taken strides towards full EU membership, and solved our Alevi citizens' problems would be a richer, freer and safer country, wouldn't it? Indeed, some people might fear such a Turkey, but these people are stuck in the past, and these problems should be solved through peaceful means.
Reforming the 1982 Constitution in line with the principles of modern democracy and the rule of law would solve such issues as basic rights and freedoms, freedom of expression, constitutional citizenship, confused jurisdiction, and abnormal civilian-military relationships. I mention this problem first because progress on the other issues is almost impossible without addressing the coup-era Constitution. The Cyprus and Armenian issues have also been left hanging in the air for a long time, and they certainly must be solved. Nor must solving them be difficult. They shouldn't be 'solved' by ignoring certain sectors of society, either. But what we need to shake off is the view that the status quo is the best solution.
The Kurdish and Alevi issues can be solved through an understanding in which the state treats all of its citizens equally in terms of its budget. This was what I expected from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after its landslide win in last year's general elections. Perhaps Turkey is again now missing a tremendous opportunity, because in the current atmosphere of global crisis, public support for changes might never again be so high.