|
 |
TURKEY AND AN INTERPRETATION OF DEMOCRACY
We like to publish here articles by journalists writing on the media which we believe are worth reading, mentioning source needless to say. Down below is a well expressed article about the democracy interpretation and application of the current government in Turkey. The writer - only referring to facts - paints a picture which would put any "democratic, secular Turkish patriot" full of love for his country, in despair as far as the future of this beloved country is concerned.
 Kategori |
: POLITICS |
 Yorum Sayısı |
: 0 |
 Okunma |
: 617 |
 Tarih |
: 18.02.2010 |
N
We like to publish here articles by journalists writing on the media which we believe are worth reading, mentioning source needless to say. Down below is a well expressed article about the democracy interpretation and application of the current government in Turkey. The writer - only referring to facts - paints a picture which would put any "democratic, secular Turkish patriot" full of love for his country, in despair as far as the future of this beloved country is concerned.
Thanks to Mr. Bekdil for putting together the article. It is a must reading writing. Hope it adresses you as well.
Thanks to Mr. Bekdil for putting together the article. It is a must reading writing. Hope it adresses you as well.
That evil juristocracy impeding democracy!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
BURAK BEKDIL
An Islamist-Islamist would join the jihad or sit at home and pray for the jihadists; and a pragmatist-Islamist would join politics. Like in every other political war the “Islamist cause” has two main variants to fight: the violent wing and the political wing. Their methods would invariably vary; the two flanks might even be fighting/competing with each other. But the armed and political wings of the same cause will be committed to a parallel warfare against the enemy.
Political wings do not shoot, bomb and kill. Violence is not their preferred methodology – non-violent fighting is their raison d’etre. A fight for political change in favor of the cause through democratic, less democratic or not-at-all democratic means all – nonviolent – is.
In Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his Islamist comrades and their powerful propaganda machine have perpetually argued the Turkish judiciary (read: non-Islamist judiciary) is a major impediment against democratization (read: Islamization by means of majority). Hence the abundance of skillfully crafted jargon such as “the juristocracy” and “the judicial tutelage” spilling out of that propaganda machine almost every second.
We could have assumed Mr. Erdoğan is right to explode each time his governance in favor of political Islam bangs on a judicial wall on two grounds: a) Because most of such governance has popular support, and b) The court decisions often smell of a “Kemalist touch.” A simplistic conclusion therefore could have been archaic Kemalist juristocrats are the essential barrier to democratization by European norms. We could really have subscribed to that thinking had the judicial institutions of the club Mr. Erdoğan claims he is taking Turkey into not existed.
Let’s refresh our memories chronologically.
In the recent past the European Court of Human Rights gave its seal of approval on a Turkish Constitutional Court verdict to close down the political party of which Mr. Erdoğan once was a senior member. Also in the recent past, the European court endorsed a military practice of expelling (often Islamist) officers without trial, a practice Mr. Erdoğan has strongly disapproved of since he came to power in 2002.
In 2004, the European court ruled the campus ban on the Islamic turban did NOT constitute a violation of rights, a ruling that Mr. Erdoğan argued should have been made after consultations with the Islamic scholars, the Ulema. In 2007, the court ruled against mandatory courses on religion in schools on the grounds Turkish courses overwhelmingly taught Sunni Islam, and therefore the Alevis should have a right to abstain from these courses.
I am not going to remind anyone of the fact Mr. Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, did not even bother to appeal the Constitutional Court’s 2008 verdict, which found it guilty of undermining the Constitution’s secular principles. Has anyone wondered why an innocent man found guilty by a chamber of judges would not seek justice at the highest possible court? Why, really, did Mr. Erdoğan avoid a ruling from Europe’s ultimate judicial authority?
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, the charges that Mr. Erdoğan denied, publicly saying they did not take place because he did not see any evidence when he had been to Sudan.
In 2009, Mr. Erdoğan’s “democratic” Turkey maintained its title as the country with the highest number of convictions from the European court with 341 rulings, leaving behind a larger and “autocratic” country like Russia. In terms of convictions between 1959 and 2009, Turkey also remains the unchallenged champion, with still 13,100 cases pending. Also, the European court recently found Turkey to be in serious violation of press freedom.
Most recently, the European court ruled the Turkish administrative practice of having a “religion box” on official ID cards violated civil liberties because “an individual’s religion was not among the state’s duties to care about.”
What does all of that tell us? That the Ergenekon gang has successfully infiltrated into European and international courts? That the supreme European court is a Kemalist stronghold and all it wants to do is hinder Turkey’s democratization? That this is European juristocracy fighting to topple Turkey’s democratically-elected government? That the court is plotting a coup d’etat against the AKP? Or this is first-class judicial tutelage made in Europe?
Perhaps our self-declared liberals should ask themselves in a rare moment of intellectual honesty a piercing question: What could it be that creates too visible incompatibility between Mr. Erdoğan’s understanding of democracy and governance and Europe’s established legal norms and principles?
Oh, yellow colleagues, never mind! An answer to that question may require too much courage and honesty fundamentally incompatible with your mission statement. You better go back to the previous paragraph and make a choice from that list of explanations.
SOURCE: HURRIYETDAILYNEWS.COM.TR
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=that-evil-juristocracy-impeding-democracy-2010-02-16
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
BURAK BEKDIL
An Islamist-Islamist would join the jihad or sit at home and pray for the jihadists; and a pragmatist-Islamist would join politics. Like in every other political war the “Islamist cause” has two main variants to fight: the violent wing and the political wing. Their methods would invariably vary; the two flanks might even be fighting/competing with each other. But the armed and political wings of the same cause will be committed to a parallel warfare against the enemy.
Political wings do not shoot, bomb and kill. Violence is not their preferred methodology – non-violent fighting is their raison d’etre. A fight for political change in favor of the cause through democratic, less democratic or not-at-all democratic means all – nonviolent – is.
In Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his Islamist comrades and their powerful propaganda machine have perpetually argued the Turkish judiciary (read: non-Islamist judiciary) is a major impediment against democratization (read: Islamization by means of majority). Hence the abundance of skillfully crafted jargon such as “the juristocracy” and “the judicial tutelage” spilling out of that propaganda machine almost every second.
We could have assumed Mr. Erdoğan is right to explode each time his governance in favor of political Islam bangs on a judicial wall on two grounds: a) Because most of such governance has popular support, and b) The court decisions often smell of a “Kemalist touch.” A simplistic conclusion therefore could have been archaic Kemalist juristocrats are the essential barrier to democratization by European norms. We could really have subscribed to that thinking had the judicial institutions of the club Mr. Erdoğan claims he is taking Turkey into not existed.
Let’s refresh our memories chronologically.
In the recent past the European Court of Human Rights gave its seal of approval on a Turkish Constitutional Court verdict to close down the political party of which Mr. Erdoğan once was a senior member. Also in the recent past, the European court endorsed a military practice of expelling (often Islamist) officers without trial, a practice Mr. Erdoğan has strongly disapproved of since he came to power in 2002.
In 2004, the European court ruled the campus ban on the Islamic turban did NOT constitute a violation of rights, a ruling that Mr. Erdoğan argued should have been made after consultations with the Islamic scholars, the Ulema. In 2007, the court ruled against mandatory courses on religion in schools on the grounds Turkish courses overwhelmingly taught Sunni Islam, and therefore the Alevis should have a right to abstain from these courses.
I am not going to remind anyone of the fact Mr. Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, did not even bother to appeal the Constitutional Court’s 2008 verdict, which found it guilty of undermining the Constitution’s secular principles. Has anyone wondered why an innocent man found guilty by a chamber of judges would not seek justice at the highest possible court? Why, really, did Mr. Erdoğan avoid a ruling from Europe’s ultimate judicial authority?
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, the charges that Mr. Erdoğan denied, publicly saying they did not take place because he did not see any evidence when he had been to Sudan.
In 2009, Mr. Erdoğan’s “democratic” Turkey maintained its title as the country with the highest number of convictions from the European court with 341 rulings, leaving behind a larger and “autocratic” country like Russia. In terms of convictions between 1959 and 2009, Turkey also remains the unchallenged champion, with still 13,100 cases pending. Also, the European court recently found Turkey to be in serious violation of press freedom.
Most recently, the European court ruled the Turkish administrative practice of having a “religion box” on official ID cards violated civil liberties because “an individual’s religion was not among the state’s duties to care about.”
What does all of that tell us? That the Ergenekon gang has successfully infiltrated into European and international courts? That the supreme European court is a Kemalist stronghold and all it wants to do is hinder Turkey’s democratization? That this is European juristocracy fighting to topple Turkey’s democratically-elected government? That the court is plotting a coup d’etat against the AKP? Or this is first-class judicial tutelage made in Europe?
Perhaps our self-declared liberals should ask themselves in a rare moment of intellectual honesty a piercing question: What could it be that creates too visible incompatibility between Mr. Erdoğan’s understanding of democracy and governance and Europe’s established legal norms and principles?
Oh, yellow colleagues, never mind! An answer to that question may require too much courage and honesty fundamentally incompatible with your mission statement. You better go back to the previous paragraph and make a choice from that list of explanations.
SOURCE: HURRIYETDAILYNEWS.COM.TR
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=that-evil-juristocracy-impeding-democracy-2010-02-16
|
Yazdrlabilir Sayfa | 
Word'e Aktar | 
Tavsiye Et
| 
Yorum Yaz
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
En Çok Okunan Haberler
- AŞIK VEYSEL ŞATIROĞLU'NUN YAŞAMI ESERLERİ
- İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRENMENİN YOLU NEDİR?
- VERTIGO VE TEDAVI YONTEMLERI
- İSTİKLAL ŞAİRİ MEHMET AKİF ERSOY,KABRİ BAŞINDA ANILDI
- YUNUS EMRE... YASAMI.. ESERLERI..
- ZIFAF (GERDEK) GECESI VE BILMENIZ GEREKENLER
- KUSADASI : LIMANI VE KIYILARI ILE UNLU
- ERKEGIN ILGISINI CEKMENIN YOLLARI...
- INGILIZCEDE ZAMAN KARMASASI : PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
- ALDATICI REKLAM KAMPANYALARI VE VODAFONE 3G MODEM..
POLITICS Haberleri
- EU MINISTER BAGIS MEETS GREEK FM DIMAS
- VP ARREST WARRANT PLUNGES IRAQ INTO CRISIS
- ERDOĞAN: TURKEY-ISRAEL RELATIONS ARE BROKEN
- CHP DEPUTIES TAKE OATH
- OSAMA BIN LADIN DEAD, OBAMA SAYS JUSTICE IS DONE
- BOOK HUNT AT DAILY RADİKAL'S OFFICES
- A JOURNALIST: THIS IS TOO MUCH!
- OUTRAGE AT NEW ERGENEKON RAIDS
- JOURNALISTS ON COUP TRIAL MOVED TO SEPERATE CELLS
- ERDOĞAN DEFENDS PRESS FREEDOM
TÜRKIYE'NIN HABER VE KÜLTÜR PORTALI
RSS Kaynağı | Yazar Girişi