By Mehmet Ali Birand
TDN- Just think: Did we ever (we don’t need to exaggerate and consider only the last 30 or 40 years) spend a year like 2004 before?
Let me refresh your memory.
The year 2004 was a year when Turkey broke the shackles that tied it down. No matter where we stood, there was only renewal and excitement.
ECONOMY:
Turkey put an end to living with inflation, which has dominated our lives for the past 30 years. Inflation may have made the rich richer, but it had also made the poor poorer. Some thought they were rich while the poor suffered more and more.
At first we just didn’t believe it.
We thought the inflation monster would eventually creep back in. Those who benefited from continuing inflation were soon disappointed.
Turkey, after so many years, was at last free.
Most importantly, its self-confidence was restored. When push came to shove, it learned that it could do it. Being no longer indexed to inflation boosted our morale.
Our people didn’t get richer, but for first time since the 2001 crisis, everything stabilized. While unemployment did not drop, it was shown that things were getting better.
It was the first time we started something and ended it well.
Some tied it to the policies followed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Some said it was all the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) doing.
No matter who says what, we all did it.
CYPRUS
It was a taboo subject.
It was a matter of honor for us. It showed our strength of will.
It was a national cause we could never abandon.
However, as years passed, we didn’t realize that this child we protected through thick and thin was about to die. When we woke up, we were about to miss the train. We were still resisting despite all the warning signs.
The Turkish side showed an incredible transformation at the last minute. The taboos were broken, but the domestic political balances were able to take up the challenge.
The process of finding a solution on Cyprus was an incredible achievement for Turkey. In the end, it got a proportion of what it wanted.
THE KURDISH PROBLEM
It was a year when the tension over Turkey’s biggest problem, the Kurdish issue, lessened.
At last the Kurdish existence was admitted. Allowing Kurdish education and broadcasting were incredible developments for those who know what has happened over the past 20 years.
The freeing of Leyla Zana and her friends and then attempts to establish a new party were the most important signs of this problem moving towards the political arena and away from terrorism.
EUROPE
The developments we witnessed on Dec. 17 will never let us forget 2004.
Can you just imagine? No one believed us. They had even accused some of us of deceiving the nation, claiming, “Europe will never give us a date to start the negotiations.” The opposition within Turkey had waged a serious fight to prevent Turkey from changing and wanted things to remain as they were.
On Dec. 17, the dream no one believed in became a reality. Turkey was given a date to start European Union membership negotiations.
The self-confidence of the Turkish nation increased. People became happy. They saw an unexpected scene. Some may still be arguing that all this was just a trick, but we are on a new path.
The objective of Turkey’s founder Atatürk showed us that becoming a member of the modern world is a little bit closer. What can be better?
FEEL GOOD TODAY
We may have to face certain problems in our daily lives. However, just think if all these had not come to pass. What would we have felt like with the economy in a mess, inflation once again on the rise and bankruptcies abounding. Turkey receives a clear “no” from the EU and the majority of the people have a pessimistic view of the future.
However, this is not the reality and that is why you should feel good.
At least say, “I am happy to be living in this country,” for a few days.
Our Turkey is entering a new period. I can feel it in my bones. Nothing will ever be the same. We will no longer debate the issues we have over the past few decades. We will face different problems.
The year 2005 will be even better.
Happy New Year!
Thank God Gül changed
One newspaper published certain sections of a speech made by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül in 1995 when he was a Welfare Party (RP) deputy. Some of those who knew Gül in the past say, “A person cannot change this much.”
Of course they can.
Thank God, Abdullah Gül did.
I interpreted Gül’s 1995 speech very differently. What would have happened if the RP had remained as it was and Gül had not initiated the AKP movement?
That’s why I’m glad he changed.
Change is not bad. Especially when one openly admits that he or she has changed, it shows the individual’s self- confidence. This is what Abdullah Gül did. In an interview with Güneri Civaoglu, he explained how he had changed.
And just ask yourself, who among us hasn’t?
Do we still believe in the things we used to when we were young? Do we still act the same way? A person’s inability to change doesn’t show his strength, but his failure to adapt to the changing world and his tendency not to move forward.