Columnists feel Başbuğ has changed the military’s strict view toward the use of headscarves. Regarding the other issue, there is a warning for the government that if it does not push ahead with its Kurdish initiative, it will face more criticism abroad.In the wake of Başbuğ’s recent statements in which he expressed regret for the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA) incident, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s wife, Emine, was denied entry to GATA to visit an ailing thespian on the grounds that she wore a headscarf, Zaman’s Mustafa Ünal discussed whether Başbuğ, who has been at the center of harsh criticism since assuming his post, is undergoing a change of attitude. “I wish such an incident had never occurred. It is impossible to defend,” Başbuğ said last week when he was asked his opinion regarding the incident.
Ünal says he hopes Başbuğ’s statement will bring an end to the meaningless headscarf ban at military facilities as he explains: “I don’t think military officers will ignore Başbuğ’s statements in an institution governed by discipline and the chain of command. Başbuğ’s headscarf message in the GATA incident will not be limited to military facilities alone and will influence the views of circles who take the military as an example for themselves regarding the headscarf issue.”
From Başbuğ’s latest statements, Ünal concludes that he appears to be a chief of General Staff who would like to be a part of the solution to the problems. “Başbuğ did not lash out at anybody. He spoke calmly. Perhaps, he spoke as the chief of General Staff and softened the atmosphere in Ankara. Is Başbuğ opening a new page? It is possible for him to eliminate the negative memories of the past seven years,” says Ünal.
Milliyet’s Hasan Cemal discusses the deadlock over the government’s Kurdish initiative, which was launched last summer to find a solution to Turkey’s long-standing Kurdish problem, as well as criticism the government has received for suspending the solution process. Having attended a conference in the European Parliament about Turkey, the Kurdish problem and the EU, he says Prime Minister Erdoğan and his government have been harshly criticized by the European Parliament over the stalemate on the Kurdish initiative, and he thinks most of this criticism is warranted. Similarly, Cemal says there is criticism for the government on its Armenian initiative. Indicating that criticism of the government is for the time being in the backstage of the European Parliament, not in front of the public, Cemal warns that if the government fails to give a push to these initiatives, the winds of criticism against it in Brussels may get stronger.
