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Agenda gone wild due to failure to normalize
When senior officials of political parties are asked the reasons why problems can or cannot be solved, irrespective of party affiliations, they all focus on Turkey’s need for normalization. Turkey is a country that has been longing for normalization since its establishment.
It is not only local arguments, but also external factors that are voiced in the backstage corridors of Ankara in connection with the country’s failure to normalize. Some comment that in a shrinking world, it is assumed normalization and increased welfare will have global effects, an assumption that may be perceived as unfavorable. This paves the way for developments that might be disappointing to societies’ desire for normalization.
Does normalization have a unique geography?
According to a political pundit, Turkey’s current position makes it considerably difficult for it to normalize, as do its special conditions.
 Last week Başkent University Rector Mehmet Haberal and retired Professor Erol Manisalı were arrested. Latest Ergenekon operation is forerunner of operations against politicians In its 12th wave of operations, the Ergenekon investigation was extended to university rectors and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which came as a shock to some politicians. Those who have argued that the Ergenekon investigation was being conducted under the control of the AK Party and would end without causing much disruption, now confess they were wrong. Stressing that the reactions to the 12th wave were louder than those to the 11th, a doyen of politics said: “The 12th wave is the forerunner of the political wave. If it had been controlled by the AK Party, there would have been no 12th wave. Now that it has reached this stage, it will also extend to politics.” Senior AK Party officials confirmed that they have lost some political support because of the last wave. “If we could control it, we would not allow developments that would weaken us. The legal process is proceeding in its natural course,” they said. CHP deputy Chairman Onur Öymen pointed out that while the detention, search, interrogation and arrest stages are being conducted in compliance with the law, they disturb to people’s consciences. Referring to the medical condition of the Support for Modern Life Association (ÇYDD) President Türkan Saylan, he cautioned that “practices that may distress people should be avoided.” While Parliament Speaker Toptan made a similar statement, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) and some NGOs were harsher in their reactions. CHP leader Deniz Baykal, who seemed to give the impression of renouncing his advocacy for Ergenekon during the election process, defined the 12th wave as a “coup.” Baykal sent senior party officials to the places where searches and detentions were being been undertaken, claiming that the AK Party had conducted a coup through the agency of prosecutors. “While respected people are being detained, no one lifts a finger,” he said, emphasizing the lack of reaction. In response to Baykal’s words which are beyond the limits of ordinary criticism, senior AK Party members argued that he may be “panicked due to ever-narrowing circle around him.” They further accused him of having double standards. “When a closure case was brought against the ruling party, he said, ‘There are prosecutors in Ankara,’ hoping for the AK Party’s closure, but he described the 12th wave of Ergenekon as a ‘prosecutors’ coup.’ Isn’t it a contradiction?” they asked. |
After the local elections and Obama’s visit, Turkey has spent the last week feeling exhausted by the rapidly changing agenda: The 12th wave of operations in the Ergenekon investigation; the tension between Azerbaijan concerning the reopening of the border crossing with Armenia; the speech delivered by the chief of general staff; the police raid against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants within the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP); and the ever worsening economic crisis.
There is not a single move toward the settlement of any of these issues by the political parties.
Senior officials of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) stress that the government and the opposition must act together for the common good of the country and are considerably uneasy about the inability of politics to create solutions.
In informal conservations, they openly admit that they, too, have their faults, but they put the eventual blame on the ruling party. While they enjoy the fact that this process is weakening the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), they feel the need to stress that the nation is paying the price for the lack of solutions.
Conversely, senior AK Party officials claim that it is the opposition that is responsible for the lack of solutions. Referring to the results of the recent election, they said: “If any of the opposition parties had been part of the solution, the nation would have told them to be ready to assume government office. But the reality is that only the sum of all them can match the votes of the AK Party.”
The silence adopted by the opposition parties particularly after the speech delivered by Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, has been criticized. Senior CHP and MHP executives say that they find it difficult to understand Başbuğ’s speech, which has been both criticized and praised, and that they are working on it and will act accordingly.
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan is being harshly criticized and viewed as a discredited politician who avoids taking responsibilities. After having failed to take the initiative in constitutional amendments and reforms, having initiated a discussion about the tenure of president and making statements about the Ergenekon detentions, Toptan is seen as effectively putting an end to his career as a politician.
Turkey’s problems with such a quickly changing agenda mean it cannot return to its original agenda and this is the biggest obstacle to normalization. However, politicians have not given up hope; as a senior CHP executive said: “Do not be demoralized or disappointed. Our country is capable of overcoming these problems.” Facing the problems is part of the solution so it would be wrong to despair.
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