20 March 2010 / YASİN DOĞAN YENİ ŞAFAK,
The primary issue in democratization is putting military-civilian relations on track. This relationship must be normalized in order to develop civilian politics, make democracy operate as broadly as possible and to properly implement state of law norms.
In order to have democracy in essence and not just in words, the national will must shape the nation’s administration and future through civilian politics, and no tutelage can even attempt to constrain this will. Undermining the army and making it ineffective and insignificant is not an inherent requirement of democratization. What democratization requires is a military that stays within its own scope of duty, complies with the norms of a state of law and assumes appropriate roles within the democratic system. It is an inevitable obligation for all institutions to assume a democratic role and accept national sovereignty.
