31 October 2009 / İSMET BERKAN, RADIKAL
As you know, yesterday we celebrated the 86th anniversary of our republic. In even the most simple, easiest to understand middle school textbook, a republic means a union of citizens with equal rights, no longer under the rule of the pasha.
The people of this nation are citizens of this republic, let us not forget. But we all know that we have never perceived our own citizens as first-class citizens in their own right, and that instead we have belittled them as “so-called citizens.” From that perspective, then, the act of “making these citizens uncomfortable” is nothing new. The debates could rage on until morning on this front, though I really think there is no need. The republic exists on the basis of its own citizens, and when you exclude or discriminate against your own citizens, you harm the republic first and foremost. In any case, here’s to the celebrations of our republic’s anniversary.
