Ukraine in Arabic | Difference between the mentalities of Russia and Turkey
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ Not because he had international experience and a worldwide reputation as an actor or his bass voice, incredible use of body language in his plays, years of excellent performance as an actor, but rather as a modern face of intellectual Turkey on stage, TV and cinema, I always had high admiration of Haluk Bilginer. I came across him this week while reading the magazine “
As always, Bilginer was to the point. “As an aged man who has lost his hopes regarding the youth of this land, I am happy that my hopes
This week, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan were in talks in Ankara over gas, nuclear energy, energy lines, and such power-related subjects. No doubt, they understood each other well, like two political brothers from two different geographies coming together. Did they discuss how to domesticate the media? Probably not, such problems have become mostly history for both leaders. Did they exchange opinions on the Putin-Medvedev and Erdogan-Davutoglu models? Do they need to at all? Most probably they did not discuss
The
Irrespective of if I like it or not, there is a need for the Turkish state to make peace with its people and the religions of its people, as well as with history. Under the pretext of fighting parallel state, a systematic campaign is continuing against a section of the society, while despite the refusal to lay down arms and denounce terrorism, both the separatist terrorist gang and its political extensions are “exceptional” treatment. Large chunks of Turkish territory are no longer under the control of the Turkish state. The gang has reportedly gone to the extent of appointing a “governor” for one of Turkey’s border provinces.
Turkey’s problems ought to be resolved within democracy and through democratic methods. The Kurdish issue, Alevi’s problems and even mass murders or mass laying downs in mines and most of all the rest of the woes of this country are all related to the absence of democratic governance. Having elections every few years is not democracy. After all, don’t forget even Hitler had come through the ballot box. In the absence of democratic norms, values and institutions, only using the ballot box can produce only the sort of democracy where the chief of the constitutional commission may come up with a “If the constitutional court does not decide what we are expecting from it, not only the decision will be considered void, but we will start talking about the future of the high court as well.”
Does Turkey deserve this?
Author: Yusuf Kanli