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When Worlds Collide... Kemalist Democracy and the AKP 1/2 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Belittling the [inept] CHP Opposition Party and berating the Turkish Press Thanks to: Gözcü Gazetesi 15 March 2006 The Quirky Election Law Hijacking of 2002 [Ed. Note: This article written March 2007] The blog-article, 'Caught Between 2 Bad Choices -- The 2007 Turkish Presidential Election', that we wrote earlier this month inspired the following heartfelt response on 20 March 2007 from our site-visitor, Etty: Dear Habibullah, Living in Turkey with my Turkish husband and being used to his political short-temper, I took with the usual 'pinch of salt' his recent assertions that a military coup is imminent. But reading your blog-article reminds me of his words -- and sends shivers down my spine. What I find difficult to understand is that most Turks (with whom I speak) deride this AKP government and yet the AKP Party is still top in the [plurality] polls! This is the most beautiful country with the most friendly and generous people I have ever met. My grandson, who lives with me as my son, thinks as a Turk -- he even wants to be a soldier for Ataturk. But Ataturk embraced democracy. And I think the Turkish people have to be brave enough to allow that democracy to work. Sometimes democracy gets hijacked by idiots, it's true -- just look at the US and the UK. But the Turkish people can't carry on expecting the Military to bail them out every time there's an internal threat. Etty's message had a potent, slow-build effect on us -- which is why we've taken this long to reply... [Habibullah Start] Dear Etty, Yours is a great comment -- top to bottom. We agree with and/or appreciate everything you say. (Our grandsons should meet some day...They sound like peas in a pod!) We only question your last point, that, "...Turkish people can't carry on expecting the Military to bail them out every time there's an internal threat." We believe the day will come when what you say is absolutely true. But, we also believe that Ataturk was right when he foresaw the need for a Turkish Democracy safety-net -- to forestall the chance of a return to 'Ottoman Mentality'. So he singled out the Turkish Military and designated it to protect the secular Nation against a very special breed of 'idiot'... the breed that doesn't believe in Democracy -- that seeks to undermine it, to turn it on itself, to kill it. Consider these sobering facts... About 65% of Turks voted against the religious-right AKP (and its canny leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) in the last National Election of 2002. Yet, the AKP managed to 'usurp' majority rights and establish its own overwhelming voting-majority in Parliament (due entirely to a quirky Turkish election-law loophole which, in 2002, denied seats in the new Parliament to all AKP opposition parties -- except Deniz Baykal's ineffectual CHP). And although the AKP's 34% plurality-victory in 2002 wouldn't seem anything like a 'popular nationwide mandate', it was sufficient (within the quirky election-rule loophole) to give the AKP uncontested power (for nearly 5 years now) to pass any bill it has wanted to -- without the slightest worry of Parliamentary Opposition. (Thankfully, due to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's generous use of his Presidential veto-power, the AKP's most-awful reactionary legislation has never seen the light of day.) The AKP has even had the majority voting-power to amend the Turkish Constitution and, for example, bring back regressive Ottoman policies and laws -- that have no place in Modern Society. Further... Party Zealots (in a doomsday scenario?) have dreamed aloud of using the AKP's voting-majority to declare Turkey a Non-secular Islamic State -- with just a straightforward 'Constitutional Amendment'. "Oh my," you may exclaim, "That's a pretty extreme example. It's hard to imagine such a thing. Furthermore, if the AKP has the political will and that much Parliamentary clout... then why hasn't it passed such a Constitutional Amendment already?" There are several reasons... In Part 2: 'Shivers down the spine' continue... Related: Final Results Charts for the 2007 National Elections What the Turkish National Election Results of 2007 may fortell About the 2007 Pre-Election Polls The Next Turkish President Must Not Be.... Bang, bang! The AKP gets shot down (for the moment) for strong-arm tactics When Worlds Collide -- Kemalist Democracy and the AKP 2/2 Threats to Turkey's Well-Being - Terrorism and Religious Excess Steering Clear of Politics and Religion, this time... Turkish 'Religious Attitudes' and Politics Caught Between 2 Bad Choices -- The Turkish Presidential Selection, 2007 Countdown To A Turkish Secularist's Nightmare, Presidential Selection Day 2007 Turkish National Pre-Election Polls 2002 Local elections 2004 -- No 'Girl Power' (see yerel seçimler) International Study with an Outhouse Smell 'Troubles in Turkish Paradise' Language-Guide LPT's Geopolitical pages... Unrelated fun: Profiles of the Turkish People Sneeeezing in Turkish Turkish Terms Of Endearment Turkish Personal Names Politically Incorrect Turkish Humor Why Off-Color Turkish is important too Gossipy Turkish Who's Who Turkish Conventional and 'Erotik' Movies, Index The 'cold and delicious' ice cream of Kahramanmaraş Post your comment...»