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‘Military tutelage major obstacle before Turkey in solving chronic problems'
The platform, a prominent discussion forum that deals with Turkey's longstanding problems, brought together scholars, writers, intellectuals and community leaders at the Abant Palace Hotel in Abant, in northwest Turkey, to discuss the subject of “Democracy and Tutelage.”
The evaluation stressed that Turkey is placed under strong military tutelage, which makes it almost impossible to solve its problems. “Tutelage, which is closely linked to our experience in the social, political and international fields, renders democracy unable to function. In this way, it complicates the solution of Turkey's problems in all fields. The problems we are faced with today, such as the Kurdish question, the Alevi issue, the headscarf stalemate and restrictions on fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be settled because of tutelage,” it emphasized.
The Abant Platform is supported by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), a civil society organization championing the principles of diversity, multiculturalism and dialogue.
According to the evaluation, tutelage also leads to social unease and an escalation in acts of violence and intimidation in the public. The platform also lent support to civil society organizations from the Kurdish-dominated Diyarbakır province in southeastern Turkey in issuing a joint declaration to call on the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to immediately lay down arms.
PKK terrorism has been the primary issue of debate in Turkey for the past couple of weeks. Terrorist attacks that mainly targeted military bases left dozens of security personnel dead and even more wounded. PKK terror attacks usually increase in the spring and summer months as warmer weather brings increased infiltration of PKK terrorists from the mountains of northern Iraq. Several thousand terrorists are based in the mountains across the border.
The platform would like military bureaucracy to be subject to democratic supervision and military expenditure in Turkey to be determined and overseen by democratic institutions. The Turkish military has been the target of harsh criticism for acting almost totally independently in its expenditure.
Participants in the platform also agreed that the Constitutional Court should not hinder the efforts of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and Parliament to amend the Constitution, a remnant of the Sept. 12, 1980 coup d’état. They said judicial organs must be reformed.
Parliament passed a constitutional amendment package in mid-May in the hope of eradicating the remnants of the 1980 coup. The package introduces new regulations in many areas and also makes structural changes to the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), however, appealed to the Constitutional Court to annul the package. The court is set to decide over whether or not to annul the reform package.
Also on Saturday, participants of the platform called for the settlement of the Kurdish and Alevi questions through democratic means.
Necdet Subaşı, a distinguished philosophy professor, said the Alevi question is nothing new and has existed since the Ottoman Empire. “Many workshops have been held to find solutions to this issue. Alevis forwarded a list of their demands to the state after the workshops. One of these demands is the recognition of cemevis [Alevi places of worship]. Alevis also want the state to confront the Madımak incident,” he said.
On July 2, 1993, a group surrounded the Madımak Hotel, where many intellectuals were staying for the Pir Sultan Abdal Festival in Sivas. The group turned violent and set the hotel on fire. Thirty-seven intellectuals and participants in the festival were trapped in the hotel and killed.
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