There is half pessimism and half optimism for the new year, which many commentators agree will still bear traces of developments from the past year. Milliyet’s Semih İdiz talks about the possible course of Turkish-US relations in 2008, which underwent strained periods in 2007 over US inaction over the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) but mellowed toward the end of the year as the US administration took some concrete steps, such as the sharing of actionable intelligence and opening Iraqi air space to Turkey to help Turkey fight against the PKK. İdiz thinks that following President Abdullah Gül’s visit to Washington on Jan. 8, new positive developments may take place in Turkish-US relations and the parties may agree to enhance the strategic partnership. In reference to a statement from the White House which said that Gül and Bush will not only exchange views on the fight against the PKK but also discuss other matters such as Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Middle East, İdiz comments that exchanging views on a wide array of subjects with respect to a wide geography and agreeing on some decisions is not commonplace between states with ordinary relations. “This situation shows that the level of Turkish-US relations is special. After four years of turbulence, I do not think that Turkey and the US would like to lose the momentum they have just gained in bilateral relations. So, I think the new year harbors positive developments for Turkish-US relations,” he notes.
Radikal’s İsmet Berkan, looking back at the past year, thinks that the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the Turkish military’s threat to intervene in politics were the two most striking developments of 2007. He explains that it was not only because Dink was a journalist and his murder was racially motivated which rendered his murder so striking; rather it was also the fact that his murder clearly revealed a structure within the state that regards such murders as normal. He terms the military’s threat to intervene in politics during the controversial presidential election process as an unfortunate development in the name of Turkish democracy. “The fact that both the murderer and the masterminds of the Dink murder were arrested and Turkey successfully elected a new president following the general elections does not eliminate the effects of these two incidents. There hasn’t been either a plan to deal with racism or a strategy to protect our democracy from similar military interventions. We are not certain whether we will have to live in another coup environment in the future,” he says.
Yeni Şafak’s Koray Düzgören regrets that Turkey is entering the new year as a country fighting a war, referring to military operations carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) against PKK bases in northern Iraq. He affirms that Turkey’s war may be a just war since it is against a terrorist organization but still does not approve of it, saying that the war is not aimed at eliminating the factors that gave birth to this terrorist organization. “If you are still not talking about peace and a solution even after such a war, this means you did not wage a just war. The result is obvious. Turkey is unfortunately entering a new year with a war. Last week I scanned the articles in newspapers that talked about peace and opposition to war. There were only a few. Anyway, at least I found some. I hope the year 2008 will be a year when peace is highlighted instead of war,” he says.
