They have arrived and the wait is over

For long, we have been shouting and saying that the fault belongs to the mentality that scorns the nation and refrains from attaching legitimacy to those elected by the nation. This is what we have been shouting all these years. We have been waiting for some to hear our voice. Thank God, as it seems the wait is over. Today, I would like to provide examples in order to freshen hopes. The first example comes from retired Ambassador Temel İskit's article titled "Thoughts of a 72-year-old White Turk," published recently in the Taraf newspaper. The following is a summarized excerpt:

"My generation and my close circle have lived for a long time in a problem-free Turkey. We would scorn the East and attach greater importance to the West. Our greatest fear was reactionaryism and communism. We have been deceived for years. First, we were deceived by education. Then, by the Cold War. The curtain before our eyes started to be removed later than for other generations. We first started to get the impression that something was being concealed from us but could not know what it was. It took time for us to understand that Turkey is not problem-free, but rife with many problems, and to give some serious thought to the settlement of these issues.

“Some of us were attracted to the appeal of ideologies, failing to see that it was the ideologies that were masking our problems. Many of us opted to do our duties blindly. When the world changed and we were faced with our real problems, we were shocked. None of the old formulas were useful. Kemalism, socialism and nationalism could not solve our problems. Of course, it was not easy to accept that one has been deceived all through one's life. Some of us got angry because of this deception while many of us still seek shelter in the comfort of denial. We have realized that the fear of Shariah instilled inside our hearts has no sound justification. We understood that Islam is not a danger, as they taught, but a common value of our society. After seven years of government by a political party that is said to be ‘pro-Islamic,' we saw that Turkey has not become like Iran. We have observed how the fight against reactionaryism is used as a pretext to restrict liberties.

“My generation is the most conditioned part of the society. We even consider ourselves responsible for the conditioning of generations that came after us. My generation tried to maintain the problems instead of seeking solutions for them. The solution is now in your hands. We have done wrong to Turkey, but you should not."

The second example comes from an interview former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök gave to Fikret Bila of the Milliyet daily. Let us read it together:

"I find my people considerably fair and sensible. You know there is something called common sense. You'll be amazed to hear what people who you would consider ignorant or irresponsible have to say. Our people have strong faith, but a majority of them are moderate. They are devout people, and this is what we should respect. Societies without faith have always gone through problems. Even in modern countries, beliefs are important. We should not ridicule the devout. But, this is what was done in Turkey. People felt the need to conceal their beliefs and religious practices. Words implying religiosity came to be used to disparage. I was criticized for working in harmony with the prime minister. It is the duty of every chief of general staff to work in harmony with the legitimate government. I don't like to see chiefs of general staff quarreling with prime ministers or other people. The majority of the people, too, do not like this. I believe problems can be settled more easily with peaceful methods, mutual understanding and by lending an ear to opposing ideas without concealing one's own. This is my experience."