“I said ‘no’ when I looked from [İstanbul’s upscale] Nişantaşı neighborhood, but having seen the East and the Southeast, I will say ‘yes,’” he told Today’s Zaman. Karacan says he was impressed to see people in the region declare that they will vote “yes” because it will help bring the peace and serenity they have been longing for. “I will say ‘yes’ in the referendum to be held on Sept. 12 to support their demands for sustainable peace,” he said.
Noting that although he voted for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the 2007 parliamentary elections because he was content with the party’s performance, he says he was planning on saying “no” to the constitutional changes at first. He added that many people will say “no” without seeing the public’s actual demands. “When you look from Nişantaşı and Bebek, you cannot see the demands of the public. I also thought the referendum was unnecessary and I was determined to say ‘no’ when I looked from Nişantaşı, where I was born and grew up. However, I understood that I was mistaken when I went to six provinces in the East and Southeast. We cannot see what they demand from Nişantaşı, but they will say ‘yes’ for sustainable peace in the region. I advise ‘no’ voters to look at the issue from this perspective, as well,” he emphasizes.
“Everyone should say ‘yes’ for a stronger democracy,” he adds.
On Sept. 12 Turkey will hold a referendum on government-sponsored constitutional amendments. The reform package will, among other things, make the judiciary more democratic and pave the way for the trial of the perpetrators of the country’s Sept. 12, 1980 military coup.
