Recep Tayyip Erdogan
I have collected a couple of links to articles about the situation in Turkey / the (likely) election of Gül as Turkey’s next president. As you all will know by now (thanks to Meltem for posting about this topic at my own blog The Gazette), Gül received the most votes in the first round, but not enough votes to become president already. He needs a second (and third) round. Mehmet Ali Birand explains, however, at Turkish Daily News that although Gül did not get elected, he still won. The reason: when he becomes Turkey’s president the end of August, there will be virtually no one who will question the legitimacy of the vote.
The outcome of the elections did not exactly make the Republican People’s Party (CHP) happy: its members are outraged. Not so much because of Gül getting the majority of the votes, but because other opposition parties participated in the election. According to the CHP, the other parties should not participate – especially not the DSP. The DSP, however, decided to meet with Gül and to attend the vote: obviously, its members did not vote for Gül but for their own candidate, but there can be no doubt about it any longer: Gül will become Turkey’s next president. For the first time in its history Turkey will have a (moderate) Islamist as its leader.
Secularists recognize the danger and know that – at least for now – they have lost. Reactions like this one are common and understandable – when independent member of parliament Kemer Genc met with Gül he reportedly told the future president of the Turkish Republic: “your wife, with her turban, makes Turkey resemble an Arab state.” He also warned Gül not to “fill Cankaya Presidential Palace with black-scarved people pretending to be secular.”
Gül response: “I also want a modern democratic country. In a democratic state, the path must be cleared for a structure in which every faction can live in equality and comfort. Also, most of my wife’s friends do not wear turbans.”
Of course, one of the things that secularists fear about Erdogan and Gül is that they use Democratic principles, not because they truly believe in them, but because those principles help them achieve what many consider to be their (secret) goal: establishing a theocracy / Islamic Turkey and, thus, to break with its secular system. Note how Gül did not say that he wants a “modern secular country,” or a “modern secular democratic country,” but “a modern democratic country.” I think it is safe to assume that he did this on purpose.
Deniz Baykal – the leader of the CHP – meanwhile, summarized the fear of Turkey’s secularists thusly: “Gul’s background is one which bears the signature of dangerous ideas and comments about the Turkish Republic. The project to turn Turkey into a ‘moderate Islamic’ nation is continuing. This project will only speed up after the presidential elections. A giant has been created in a laboratory, and this giant is now not even under the control of Prime Minister Erdogan.”
I think that it is safe to assume that the secularists are right: that it is indeed the goal of Erdogan and Gül to transform Turkey into a ‘moderate Islamic’ nation. The question is, will they succeed? In my opinion, it is highly unlikely. The reason: Turkey’s military will not accept it; nor will Turkey’s elite allow it to happen. In the end, Turkey’s secularists (who are not just the elite by the way, also common people) will fight back if necessary. Turkey has been a secular nation for over 80 years. Once Erdogan and Gül truly make a move to break with secularism, I expect the majority of Turks to turn against them ASAP. Especially if Turkey’s secularists keep doing what they do: they must continue to oppose Erdogan and Gül strongly and they must continue to pressure them into accepting Turkey’s system.
Having said that, Turkey’s secularist parties are certainly not perfect. If we look at how these parties dealt with the economy, it suddenly makes sense why so many people whose main concern was the economy, voted for the AK Parti this year. The CHP and other parties have to reform themselves, have to renew themselves in this regard and learn from the AKP. They can also learn how to appeal to the Turkish voters from the AKP. If Gül and Erdogan are anything, it is great salesmen. They know how to sell their product. Deniz Baykal does not.
Lastly, yesterday Meltem already quoted Bekir Coskun, but she did not link to his column. For those of you who want to read it, here it is (or at least part of it).
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