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TURKISH DEMOCRACY "IN PROGRESS"
By Edmond Y. Azadian
Situation in Turkey and Armenian National Interests
AZG Armenian Daily #122,
29/06/2007
You can kill a man, but not his ideas. The Turks murdered Hrant Dink,
they destroyed him physically, yet his ideas continue haunting all
of Turkey. If, initially, there were doubts whether the crime was the
act of a fanatical individual or an organized entity, developments in
the ensuing months came to prove that the "deep state" was involved
in the assassination plot. The criminal was treated and hailed as a
national hero publicly and by the police.
During Hrant Dink's funeral the Istanbul municipality had prepared
uniform slogans sympathetic to the victim, to demonstrate to the West
that there was a unanimous condemnation of the crime. The veneer of
hypocrisy wore out soon and there was a backlash.
Those who were chanting "We are all Hrant Dinks", "We are all
Armenians" were soon countered by the fanatical mobs chanting "We
are all Turks".
Hrant Dink's ideas caught the imagination of the masses in Turkey
like a conflagration, and it became a daunting task for the Turkish
military to contain them.
Dink's "Agos" weekly had become a cauldron of liberal ideas, not only
for the Armenians, but also for the Kurds and Turks in the human rights
movement. "Agos" had a wide circulation, equally read by Armenians,
Kurds and Turks.
"Agos" nurtured the ideals of Kurdish national identity and
self-determination, as it rekindled ideas of democracy and human
rights among educated Turks. He believed that by developing democratic
institutions in Turkey that country would be civilized and become an
acceptable candidate for European Union. Then Armenia could reap the
fringe benefits, by having a civilized country on its border ready to
face historic reality and recognize the genocide. Germany faced its
past, reconciled with its erstwhile enemies, especially with Britain
and France and to this day compensates Jews and Israel, because it
is a civilized nation.
Hrant Dink was a sincere fighter for democracy in Turkey. He tried to
push Turkey to the threshold of the 21st century, but the reactionaries
won for the time being and the ruling religious party is looking back
to the medieval past to establish a system based on the Sharia law
in this day and age.
For the Turkish military he opened too many cans of worms, challenging
its capacity to contain. He had to be eliminated before he went too
far. But they could not kill his ideas.
The Turks have been conducting a very sophisticated policy of playing
the charade of democracy on the face, while allowing the military to
call the shots.
The West and especially the major US media play up the charade by
inviting the other Moslem countries to emulate the Turkish model.
As the AK party, like its predecessor led by Erbakan, began flexing
its muscles, the military tightened its grip on the government.
Also a powerful backlash came to intimidate the minorities, and
especially Armenians. Bomb threats against Armenian churches and
schools, a vicious media campaign and continued government harassment
have created an atmosphere of fear and terror, so much so that some
Armenians in Turkey have begun to blame the victim himself, Hrant Dink,
questioning whether it was right for him to awaken the sleeping beast.
Prime Minister Erdogan, after giving some lip service to the European
critics of the Turkish Penal Law 301, continues to use it against
any perceived enemy to stifle freedom of speech.
It was not enough that Hrant Dink was murdered and his newspaper's
staff harassed, now the next victim is Hrant's son Arat, who has been
taken to the court.
On June 14, Hrant Dink's son Arat was taken to the court as the
successor of his father at Agos, which in its July 2006 edition had
reproduced an interview by Hrant to a news agency. Arat and three
other journalists were charged with "insulting Turkish identity"
under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The Istanbul prosecutor's office requested six months prison sentence
for Arat Dink. The three other Agos journalists charged are Sarkis
Seropyan, Aydin Engin and Karin Karakashli. A prosecution was also
initiated against Erdal Dogal, one of the Dink family lawyers.
Reading "Wall Street Journal" one is under the impression that Turkey
has come a long way in instituting democratic reforms. These legal
harassments do not seem to figure out in those statements.
Continuing to prosecute and persecute "Agos" means fighting Hrant
Dink beyond his grave.
As long as Article 301 of the Penal Code is in force, Turkey cannot
make any progress towards democracy.
On the other hand, not a single property confiscated from the Armenian
and Greek minorities has been returned, not withstanding of the laws
that the Turkish parliament adopts or discusses ad nauseam.
The Turkish military is presented as the guardian of secularism in
Turkey. but who has elected the Turkish military for that role? Every
time any popularly elected government tries to exercise its democratic
right to govern, the self appointed military junta steps in and
topples that government. And this system is praised in certain news
media in this country as a role model of democracy to be emulated by
other Moslem countries.
Unfortunately, hypocrisy cannot be eliminated completely from
diplomacy, but if a certain measure of balance is stricken, there is
hope for democracy.
By Edmond Y. Azadian
Situation in Turkey and Armenian National Interests
AZG Armenian Daily #122,
29/06/2007
You can kill a man, but not his ideas. The Turks murdered Hrant Dink,
they destroyed him physically, yet his ideas continue haunting all
of Turkey. If, initially, there were doubts whether the crime was the
act of a fanatical individual or an organized entity, developments in
the ensuing months came to prove that the "deep state" was involved
in the assassination plot. The criminal was treated and hailed as a
national hero publicly and by the police.
During Hrant Dink's funeral the Istanbul municipality had prepared
uniform slogans sympathetic to the victim, to demonstrate to the West
that there was a unanimous condemnation of the crime. The veneer of
hypocrisy wore out soon and there was a backlash.
Those who were chanting "We are all Hrant Dinks", "We are all
Armenians" were soon countered by the fanatical mobs chanting "We
are all Turks".
Hrant Dink's ideas caught the imagination of the masses in Turkey
like a conflagration, and it became a daunting task for the Turkish
military to contain them.
Dink's "Agos" weekly had become a cauldron of liberal ideas, not only
for the Armenians, but also for the Kurds and Turks in the human rights
movement. "Agos" had a wide circulation, equally read by Armenians,
Kurds and Turks.
"Agos" nurtured the ideals of Kurdish national identity and
self-determination, as it rekindled ideas of democracy and human
rights among educated Turks. He believed that by developing democratic
institutions in Turkey that country would be civilized and become an
acceptable candidate for European Union. Then Armenia could reap the
fringe benefits, by having a civilized country on its border ready to
face historic reality and recognize the genocide. Germany faced its
past, reconciled with its erstwhile enemies, especially with Britain
and France and to this day compensates Jews and Israel, because it
is a civilized nation.
Hrant Dink was a sincere fighter for democracy in Turkey. He tried to
push Turkey to the threshold of the 21st century, but the reactionaries
won for the time being and the ruling religious party is looking back
to the medieval past to establish a system based on the Sharia law
in this day and age.
For the Turkish military he opened too many cans of worms, challenging
its capacity to contain. He had to be eliminated before he went too
far. But they could not kill his ideas.
The Turks have been conducting a very sophisticated policy of playing
the charade of democracy on the face, while allowing the military to
call the shots.
The West and especially the major US media play up the charade by
inviting the other Moslem countries to emulate the Turkish model.
As the AK party, like its predecessor led by Erbakan, began flexing
its muscles, the military tightened its grip on the government.
Also a powerful backlash came to intimidate the minorities, and
especially Armenians. Bomb threats against Armenian churches and
schools, a vicious media campaign and continued government harassment
have created an atmosphere of fear and terror, so much so that some
Armenians in Turkey have begun to blame the victim himself, Hrant Dink,
questioning whether it was right for him to awaken the sleeping beast.
Prime Minister Erdogan, after giving some lip service to the European
critics of the Turkish Penal Law 301, continues to use it against
any perceived enemy to stifle freedom of speech.
It was not enough that Hrant Dink was murdered and his newspaper's
staff harassed, now the next victim is Hrant's son Arat, who has been
taken to the court.
On June 14, Hrant Dink's son Arat was taken to the court as the
successor of his father at Agos, which in its July 2006 edition had
reproduced an interview by Hrant to a news agency. Arat and three
other journalists were charged with "insulting Turkish identity"
under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The Istanbul prosecutor's office requested six months prison sentence
for Arat Dink. The three other Agos journalists charged are Sarkis
Seropyan, Aydin Engin and Karin Karakashli. A prosecution was also
initiated against Erdal Dogal, one of the Dink family lawyers.
Reading "Wall Street Journal" one is under the impression that Turkey
has come a long way in instituting democratic reforms. These legal
harassments do not seem to figure out in those statements.
Continuing to prosecute and persecute "Agos" means fighting Hrant
Dink beyond his grave.
As long as Article 301 of the Penal Code is in force, Turkey cannot
make any progress towards democracy.
On the other hand, not a single property confiscated from the Armenian
and Greek minorities has been returned, not withstanding of the laws
that the Turkish parliament adopts or discusses ad nauseam.
The Turkish military is presented as the guardian of secularism in
Turkey. but who has elected the Turkish military for that role? Every
time any popularly elected government tries to exercise its democratic
right to govern, the self appointed military junta steps in and
topples that government. And this system is praised in certain news
media in this country as a role model of democracy to be emulated by
other Moslem countries.
Unfortunately, hypocrisy cannot be eliminated completely from
diplomacy, but if a certain measure of balance is stricken, there is
hope for democracy.