Exaggerated media coverage of Turkish raids into northern Iraq against outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists only helps further provoke the nationalistic sentiment that has already taken the form of dangerous nationalism. The day a Turkish air raid into northern Iraq was reported, another priest, this time in the Aegean coastal town of İzmir, was stabbed -- police apprehended a 19-year-old suspect.
Media coverage of the Turkish assault has also been full of misleading information about the correct version of the Turkish military's capabilities and has once again highlighted the level of intellectual capacity of some Turkish reporters in particular when it comes to military affairs.
Even former military officers appearing in programs on Turkish operations, deliberately or otherwise, made assessments that fell short of enlightening their audience about the technical aspects of the raids, and most of them, as usual, emphasized their political views on the attacks staged against the PKK.
Normally, one expects former military authorities to enlighten the audience about the technical features of the event in an attempt to give the right picture of the military's capabilities. Unfortunately we have once again witnessed deception of the public about the air raids by both mainstream media and by some retired military men.
Does Turkey really need to raid PKK hideouts in northern Iraq if Turkish decision makers have long ago addressed the problem of terrorists and terrorism in a more thoughtful and democratic manner? Have Turkish decision makers spent any effort preparing the public for a comprehensive democratic solution to the Kurdish problem?
On the contrary, we face today a public that overwhelmingly believes in a military solution alone to resolve our disputes. This has led to the public being more jingoistic and prone to being used by some "dark circles" in violent acts against those who think differently or who are not Muslims.
Father Andrea Santoro in Trabzon and Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in İstanbul were killed last year and this year, respectively, while we witnessed the brutal murders of three Christians in Malatya in the spring. These events were recently followed by the stabbing of Adriano Francini in İzmir in the past week.
Then came the arrest of Nurettin Demirtaş, the leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), upon his arrival from abroad over charges that he had illegally avoided military service.
On the one hand stand the Turkish operations taking place inside a neighboring country while on the other an uncontrollable growing hatred against those who think differently, be they Muslims or Christians.
In the midst of this dangerous trend is an image that the government has been leaving as if it has been unable to give the right direction to the nation with regards to these extreme nationalistic tendencies.
I have doubts now that the government, which has handled the northern Iraqi crisis in a diplomatic manner, despite calls being made for quite some time now by Turkish hawks for a unilateral invasion of northern Iraq, can take courageous steps to find a comprehensive solution to the Kurdish problem.
Unfortunately the government also seems to have been hijacked now by ultra-nationalist sentiment, risking the exacerbation of an already fragile economic situation, vulnerable to global negative trends.
Parliamentary opposition, in the meantime, pursues policies that can only play into the hands of those who try to maintain their selfish interests at the expense of the country's normalization.
I have serious doubts over whether the political leadership has been left with any room for maneuver to introduce a functioning partial amnesty for the PKK militants while unveiling a package of measures to heal the wounds of Turkey's Kurdish citizens. The government does not seem to be taking bold political steps in addressing the Kurdish problem and displaying a determination to discourage ultra nationalism that has taken a violent nature.
If there are no surprises, though I wish there might be, the political leadership seems unable to take courageous political steps -- at least not until before local elections planned for March 2009.
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