Who will it involve? Who will sacrifice what and who will gain what from it? What will the concrete outcome of this conciliation be for society? Who will be the winner and who will be the loser? Undoubtedly, we can multiply these questions without end.First of all, I should note that never before have we seen a period during which concepts such as conciliation and common sense have been so devoid of meaning. If we use conciliation to mean two parties with self-declaredly correct arguments compromising on their stances in order that differences in their approach and interpretation be eradicated, we should carefully analyze the current positions of the elements of the current debate and tension and the stances of the parties. We can enumerate the following elements as reasons for the current tension:
1 - Constitutional amendments made to lift a ban on headscarves in institutions of higher learning -- a ban that had been flagrantly trampling the freedoms of religion and education by violating the universal principles of secularism.
2 - Exposure of the Ergenekon terrorist organization -- located at the heart of a network of dark connections and an axis composed of the military, politics and associations and intermingled with murders, attacks, bombings and assassinations - which worked to generate the optimal socio-psychological atmosphere for a military coup planned for 2009 against the democratic government, and the government's determined crackdown on the organization.
3 - The government's accelerated approach to handling the Kurdish issue not only as a security problem but also as a socio-economic and sociopolitical problem by saving it from being portrayed as a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) initiative, and its determination to expedite the steps to be taken in this field.
4 - An attempt to draft a civilian constitution in harmony with the contemporary world's understanding of freedoms and rights instead of the current anti-democratic Constitution that was imposed on the people in 1982 in the aftermath of a military coup and which, like a fetter, has hampered society's progress and development, in addition to making all efforts to foster rights and freedoms come to naught.
5 - A closure case opened against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which garnered every other vote in elections held seven months ago, with an indictment filled with absurd news articles from the Turkish media, most of which have already been refuted.
Now let's look at the attitudes of the parties on the receiving end of the calls for common sense repeatedly being made in recent days by civil society organizations. The AK Party, which has taken the initiative in the first four of the five articles I have highlighted above, has become the target of the fifth as a price for the first four. I wonder what could be more natural than a ruling party, carried into power by the democratic majority and with strong public support, launching initiatives one after another to resolve the most fundamental problems which have long been causing the country to slip off its path. However, these normal initiatives, which should have been taken a long time ago, have proven sufficient for the AK Party to be considered a target by the establishment, the deep state, the high bureaucracy, the judiciary and the media.
The other party on the receiving end of the calls for common sense is the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the high bureaucracy, the military, some civil society organizations and a certain part of the media which are represented by the CHP. So, what do they want? Of course they want the old power order in which they feel privileged to continue until all eternity! So what should be done for this order to be perpetuated? Very simple: Even if you are representing the democratic majority as a result of the democratic reflexes of this majority, you should be reconciled with the current order and stay clear of efforts to realize reforms. Leave the tens of thousands of female students victimized by the headscarf ban enforced only in Turkey all by themselves. Don't pursue the gangs with extensions into the deep state even if they perpetrate murders, massacres, bomb attacks and provocations to reduce the democratic will to silence and form para-civilian organizations to divide the country into enemy camps. Don't move a single muscle to solve the terrorized and politicized Kurdish issue, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the underdevelopment of the Southeast. Don't even touch the primitive and repressive Constitution imposed by the military 26 years ago or rack your brain about amending practices against freedoms such as Article 301.
So what would happen if we acted with democratic reflexes and contrary to the above-mentioned things? What is it in reality that caters to high tension? It is the risk that the AK Party may end up being shut down by the politicized high judiciary on preposterous grounds. We should emphasize this in this case: If acting in line with the calls for common sense to eliminate polarization means desisting from carrying out the democratic reforms expected by over 70 percent of the population and cracking down on the axes of evil that threaten our democracy, we don't need such common sense or conciliation!
The AK Party should not step into this trap, which would be tantamount to its political closure before the physical one. It should never attempt to have people pay the price to keep itself open by renouncing its most fundamental democratic rights and freedoms and by concealing the deep gang formations as the CHP expects it to do. Just the opposite, it should step up its determination by speeding up reform efforts while simultaneously making all necessary attempts to root out, once and for all, all the axes of evil that have been encroaching upon the country like a nightmare. There seems to be no other way for our country and our democracy to be saved.
