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Business Recorder
June 15, 2013 Saturday
Taksim in Turkey
EDITORIAL Vol. XLIX No. 165
The Taksim Square is not the Tahrir Square of Cairo, nor is Recep
Tayyip Erdogan a tyrant to be driven out of power by any 'Arab
Spring'. He has not only restored Turkey's status as an important
regional power but also greatly revived the national economy. But of
late, he has run into a huge challenge to his political standing and
administrative authority on the streets of Turkey - mainly because the
people of Turkey have also changed. In Turkey, the power of street has
come to call the shots, forcing the Turkish government to hold talks
with the Taksim Square demonstrators, a change so much impossible
early last week. Not only does President Abdullah Gul feel it the duty
of the government to engage in a 'dialogue with these people to hear
out what they say,' Prime Minister Erdagon has held a meeting with
them. And the Taksim Square that was 'cleared' by police a night
before employing excessive use of force is again in the occupation of
protestors - a motley secularists, nationalists, professionals,
unionists and students. That the small demonstration by the locals of
Taksim neighbourhood against Istanbul mayor's decision to construct a
shopping mall by demolishing the Gezi Park is now a countrywide
protest, and far more fierce, it was an out of the blue development
for a strongly entrenched AK Party.
Demonstrations continued even when the city police which overplayed
its hand by coming hard on demonstrators on the first day were pulled
out of the epicenter Taksim Square and the plan to bulldoze the park
was withdrawn. In fact, Prime Minister Erdogan's call to stop
demonstrations was responded with bigger demonstrations. And running
battles between demonstrators and police were reported from many
cities including capital Ankara and Izmir. Consequently, Turkish
economy has come take to big hits, particularly the share market.
That a minor incident should snowball so rapidly posing one of the
Middle East's most effective governments, and viable economy with its
rising clout in the region in mere two weeks should run into such
turmoil, is a development that underscores the need for investigating
the real cause behind it. Of the happenings that have rocked Turkey,
two, or may be three, stand out indicating as to who could be pulling
the strings, if any, from behind, and why. Firstly, and pointedly
indicated by the prime minister also, it's possibly the Turkish
military top brass. In his words: "Today, we are exactly where we were
on April 27, 2007". On that day, according to him, the army had posted
a memorandum on its website denouncing the appointment of Abdullah
Gul, a co-founder of AK Party along with Tayyip Erdogan. Given the
lingering rivalry between the secular Turkish armed forces and the
AKP's Islamist outlook and policies there is some logic to his
argument. Even otherwise in the eyes of the Turkish military which is
in habit of toppling an elected government every 10 years the AKP has
outlasted its tenure; AKP has consecutively won three elections. No
wonder then that the anti-Erdogan demonstrators also demand snap
elections much before the end of AKP's third running term. Secondly,
Turkey's strong support of the anti-Assad rebel forces and the shelter
it has provided to the Syrian refugees doesn't sit well with the
rulers in Damascus and their regional allies. Isn't that these
countries could be fomenting trouble in Turkey. However, so far there
is no clear answer to this, except for the reports that the first
group of people in Istanbul who joined the Taksim demonstrators was
the Alevis residents of Gezi neighbourhood. Or, maybe, the powers the
AKP-led Turkish parliament had defied by refusing to give them the
bases they needed for action against Saddam Hussein have yet to turn
the page on stiff-necked Tayyip Erdogan's act of defiance. That there
is also an alleged Armenian angle to the trouble. The AKP democracy
may or may not be fitting well with many, but for the Muslims
world-over Turkey as run by its present government could be a role
model for Muslims in the Middle East any beyond.
From: Baghdasarian
June 15, 2013 Saturday
Taksim in Turkey
EDITORIAL Vol. XLIX No. 165
The Taksim Square is not the Tahrir Square of Cairo, nor is Recep
Tayyip Erdogan a tyrant to be driven out of power by any 'Arab
Spring'. He has not only restored Turkey's status as an important
regional power but also greatly revived the national economy. But of
late, he has run into a huge challenge to his political standing and
administrative authority on the streets of Turkey - mainly because the
people of Turkey have also changed. In Turkey, the power of street has
come to call the shots, forcing the Turkish government to hold talks
with the Taksim Square demonstrators, a change so much impossible
early last week. Not only does President Abdullah Gul feel it the duty
of the government to engage in a 'dialogue with these people to hear
out what they say,' Prime Minister Erdagon has held a meeting with
them. And the Taksim Square that was 'cleared' by police a night
before employing excessive use of force is again in the occupation of
protestors - a motley secularists, nationalists, professionals,
unionists and students. That the small demonstration by the locals of
Taksim neighbourhood against Istanbul mayor's decision to construct a
shopping mall by demolishing the Gezi Park is now a countrywide
protest, and far more fierce, it was an out of the blue development
for a strongly entrenched AK Party.
Demonstrations continued even when the city police which overplayed
its hand by coming hard on demonstrators on the first day were pulled
out of the epicenter Taksim Square and the plan to bulldoze the park
was withdrawn. In fact, Prime Minister Erdogan's call to stop
demonstrations was responded with bigger demonstrations. And running
battles between demonstrators and police were reported from many
cities including capital Ankara and Izmir. Consequently, Turkish
economy has come take to big hits, particularly the share market.
That a minor incident should snowball so rapidly posing one of the
Middle East's most effective governments, and viable economy with its
rising clout in the region in mere two weeks should run into such
turmoil, is a development that underscores the need for investigating
the real cause behind it. Of the happenings that have rocked Turkey,
two, or may be three, stand out indicating as to who could be pulling
the strings, if any, from behind, and why. Firstly, and pointedly
indicated by the prime minister also, it's possibly the Turkish
military top brass. In his words: "Today, we are exactly where we were
on April 27, 2007". On that day, according to him, the army had posted
a memorandum on its website denouncing the appointment of Abdullah
Gul, a co-founder of AK Party along with Tayyip Erdogan. Given the
lingering rivalry between the secular Turkish armed forces and the
AKP's Islamist outlook and policies there is some logic to his
argument. Even otherwise in the eyes of the Turkish military which is
in habit of toppling an elected government every 10 years the AKP has
outlasted its tenure; AKP has consecutively won three elections. No
wonder then that the anti-Erdogan demonstrators also demand snap
elections much before the end of AKP's third running term. Secondly,
Turkey's strong support of the anti-Assad rebel forces and the shelter
it has provided to the Syrian refugees doesn't sit well with the
rulers in Damascus and their regional allies. Isn't that these
countries could be fomenting trouble in Turkey. However, so far there
is no clear answer to this, except for the reports that the first
group of people in Istanbul who joined the Taksim demonstrators was
the Alevis residents of Gezi neighbourhood. Or, maybe, the powers the
AKP-led Turkish parliament had defied by refusing to give them the
bases they needed for action against Saddam Hussein have yet to turn
the page on stiff-necked Tayyip Erdogan's act of defiance. That there
is also an alleged Armenian angle to the trouble. The AKP democracy
may or may not be fitting well with many, but for the Muslims
world-over Turkey as run by its present government could be a role
model for Muslims in the Middle East any beyond.
From: Baghdasarian