Just consider these words from a statement made by a former head of the military's General Staff headquarters just a few days ago: "The people are ignorant. Nothing could be as dangerous as having them elect the president. Democracy in Turkey must continue under the safekeeping of the military for another 25-30 years. … If the nation gets to a certain point, the military must intervene." What these elections place before us, at this historical crossroads, are these choices: democracy or bureaucratic guardianship; new horizons or the status quo; an end to Ergenekon or submission to illegal organizations.
In fact, the touchstone here carries so much meaning that either Turkey's way forward will be cleared and the country will be free to continue on its journey as a respected nation in the region and the world, or it will be condemned to simply whirl around in chaos, remaining exhausted and ineffective. On the morning of March 30, either hopes will spring up greener, or pessimism will enslave an entire society and overshadow the sparkling future of a nation.
With these elections, Turkey has a chance, as never before, to make the move from democracy in name only to a real and forward-looking democracy. The hands of those who really want democracy have never been this strong before. And those in charge of the status quo have never been boxed into such a corner before. They have never been this feeble, this weak or this panicked. They have never been this worried. The blow about to be dealt to these factions by the very people they label as ignorant will knock them to the ground and wipe them out. If it doesn't, they will gather their strength again, struggle to their feet and then push forward with the inner fire of revenge. And they will return even less mercifully, with blood in their eyes.
At this point, all we have are the prayers we say in our hearts and the votes we can cast with our hands. This election concerns the future of our people. These are people who have, for a quarter of a century now, embraced their own spiritual roots, read the true direction of the age they were living in correctly, come together around a mutual foundation of human values and taken great leaps to become more integrated with the rest of the world. And now there is finally a Turkey that sees its flag flying all over the world and enjoys the position it deserves in the general equilibrium of world states. Likewise, the Turks now finally have true representatives, people who capture the hearts of others while promoting Turkey around the world. We have dialogue with people of other languages, religions and colors, and our songs and stories now roll off their tongues, too. We now have a legend of our own, things we want to tell this era and those living in it with us. But we cannot give away any of our opportunities to the various bogeymen that stand in our way. We cannot allow this legend of ours to be deserted halfway through. We cannot destroy the dreams of those who have set out to join their voices with ours.
To count these elections as important is not to get involved in the detailed business of politics. When the question involves the future of a people and the freedom of ideals, people cannot remain indifferent. If I am to play, for example, any role whatsoever in the direction an enormous transatlantic ocean liner about to drift from its course is going to take, I will first say or do whatever it is that falls to me, and then go about my business. And if you think like that, then you are not really so concerned with parties and the details of who is coming and going. On the contrary, people who understand this know that what they need to consider and look at is this: Who is respectful of our values? Who is taking our hearts and spiritual lives into consideration? Who takes the rising up of our people seriously? Who is on this march toward light? Who is contributing their strength to ours?
This great march forward will only occur with democracy. It will only occur if we stand up for human rights and freedoms. It will only occur if we back the rule of law. It will only occur if we ensure that everyone is accounted for and that everyone stands as an equal citizen before the law. These are the reasons we are voting.
So head to the ballot boxes if you don't want to give the coup supporters a free pass and if you want to see the bravado of the guardian bureaucracy halted. If you don't want to give more opportunities to those who have divided this people into Turks and Kurds, Sunnis and Alevis and the secular and the religious with assassinations and conspiracies, then go to the ballot boxes. If we never want to see those pits of death opened again, if we want a real state, a real constitution, a real justice system and a real media, then we must head to the ballot boxes, because no election so far has been as important as the one that comes this Sunday.
