If I had had capital, I might have invested it in Turkey and made some money -- political speculation.
Since no major electoral party runs against neoliberal capitalism in Turkey, investors are free to choose the rational course and not to lend moral and economic support to the military and secular rightists.
Besides, the elections do not represent a decisive victory for the AKP. Far from it. Turkey is a mirror image of Iran, where the most crucial institution is not presidency or parliament but armed forces -- from military to police -- that all answer to the Leader. The AKP essentially faces the same problem that Khatami did, and Ahmadinejad does, in Iran, if it wants to do anything decisive, good or bad (the same can be said about all other countries, too, except that is less obvious). This problem can be overcome, but not through electoral politics alone.
Electoral politics in Turkey and Iran is like an official opinion poll, though, which does reflect the mood of people and, to a certain extent, can impact decisions made by those who hold most power.
The social and cultural shifts reflected in the 2007 elections in Turkey, as well as young people's irreverent takes* on the conflict oversimplified and misrepresented as one between "secularism" and "Islamism," are not insignificant in the long term. Granted, they are not shifts into a traditional leftist direction, but it is clear that people in Turkey defeated the politics of fear and that many of them are redefining their conceptions of selves out of the Kemalist mode of being "Turks." Give them a decade of so, and see what happens.
* In addition to Radikal's satirical ad, here's another example:
<http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/22/news/ankara.php> Turkish group uses wit as weapon for change By Sabrina Tavernise Sunday, July 22, 2007
ISTANBUL: In the growing pains of Turkish democracy, the Young Civilians are part nurse and part comedian.
The group is one of several starting to openly question the hierarchy in Turkey, which, as the Young Civilians see it, goes something like this: The secular state elite and the military, which have steered the state since its beginning, are on the top. Elected officials deposed every decade or so by military coups are on the bottom.
The Young Civilians want that to change. Wit is their principal weapon.
When Turkey's political class was in a battle this spring over who should become president, the Young Civilians came up with their own "candidate" - a pastiche of every quality the secular old guard detests most. Named Aliye Ozturk, she was supposed to be a Kurdish, Armenian, Alawite woman who wears a head scarf and takes a keen interest in classical Turkish string instruments. (Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic, preferred Western music.)
"I will be a modern, civilized president who communicates with all segments of the society," Aliye Ozturk says in the nomination statement the Young Civilians posted on the Internet at www.aliyeozturk.com. "I will not think that I am a feudal lord just because I live at the palacelike residence."
The Young Civilians began as a group of students and held one of its earliest protests in 2003, when it took aim at the annual May 19 Youth and Sports Day, which features schoolchildren marching in sports stadiums around the country. The ceremonies are far too stiff, too Soviet and, frankly, too dull, they say, and they held a small press conference proposing to "rescue the festival from the stadiums."
"It's a kind of Stalin festival, a dogmatic thing," said Ilhan Dogus, a rail-thin finance major at Bilgi University whose sense of humor is behind some recent protests.
It was the small protest in 2003 that brought the Young Civilians their name and their notoriety. An article in Cumhuriyet, a pro-establishment daily, cited the students' protest in an article titled "Young Officers Are Concerned," said Nezir Akyesilman, a member. The group responded sarcastically, in a statement posted on the Internet, saying that "the young civilians" were also concerned.
The Young Civilians are a diverse group, both religious and secular with a variety of political affiliations, who are drawn together by their passionate belief in democracy. In a written statement this month they exhorted leaders of all the political parties to abide by the results of the Sunday parliamentary elections, in which both independents and nationalists were expected to do well.
But aside from serious work, they also indulge in comic asides.
They won admirers by rewriting Turkey's much-despised college entrance exam as a democracy quiz.
"Which of the below would elevate Turkey's status to a contemporary civilization?" one of the questions asks.
"(A) Listening to classical music. (B) Waving flags at republic rallies. (C) Dancing ballet. (D) Standing against military coups and warnings. (E) Holding a slogan that reads, 'Turkey is secular and will remain so.' "
Turkish society has undergone sweeping changes in recent decades.
Large-scale migrations from rural areas to the cities starting in the 1980s have led to a rising religious middle class, whose representatives are now fighting with the state elite for power.
In addition, Turkey has made major changes to some of its crucial institutions to qualify for European Union membership, removing much of the military's influence from government and rewriting criminal and civil codes, encouraging more openness in society.
"People are trying to rethink their identity," Dogus said. "The one the state gave us is being deconstructed."
It is a little like lifting the cover of a long-closed book.
For most of Turkish history, there was little room for society to question the official model of a Turkish citizen - a Muslim with no ethnic identity or strong political opinion. The education system reinforced that prototype.
Now history is being rethought in new books. Documentaries are exploring Turkey's past military coups. There has even been a conference that touched on the genocide of Armenians during World War I, a topic that has been fiercely taboo in Turkish society.
But coming to terms with the past is painful, and some Turks, bewildered by the changes sweeping the country, are retreating along the well-worn path of nationalism. While the European Union reforms have pulled Turkey toward the West, the rejection of Turkey by Europeans and campaigns by nationalist politicians in Turkey threaten to close the country back up.
"Breaking this link with the West, this would be very dangerous for us," said Nil Mutlver, a Young Civilian.
What is really at issue is trust, argued Mehmet Sobasi, one of the group's founding members. For generations, the state elite had held itself above the traditional, rural peasant class of the countryside, imposing coups occasionally to keep Turkey on track. Now, Sobasi contends, Turkey needs to let go of that crutch to become a truly modern democracy.
"It's the stage we'll arrive to first," Sobasi said, sitting in an office in central Istanbul. "Without getting there, we can't discuss anything."
The state does not want to face the problems that groups like Young Civilians are bringing up, Mutlver said.
By the state's thinking, she said, "We all like Armenian food, so you see, we all live together quite happily."
<http://www.aliyeozturk.com/> WHO IS ALIYE ÖZTÜRK?
One of Us...
Aliye Öztürk
Aliye Öztürk, born in 1966 in Üsküdar, İstanbul, depicts with her personality and interesting life-story the very rich cultural differences characterizing Turkey. Her grandfather, a Kurdish Naksi sheikh from Urfa, reached to martyrdom at the Battle of Dardanelles. Her father was born in Istanbul and he married the daughter of an Alevi Turkish family that migrated from Salonika to Sivas during the Balkan Wars. Aliye Öztürk traveled all over Turkey with her teacher parents, attending public primary and middle schools in various cities of Turkey. When her father was dismissed from his post after the September 12 military coup d'etat, Öztürk completed her high school education in Istanbul. During a recent search about her family genealogy, she found out that her maternal grandmother was an Armenian orphan adopted by a family in Trabzon. As such Aliye Öztürk's life-story is in fact the story of Turkey.
Öztürk graduated in 1988 from Middle Eastern Technical University's Political Science and Public Administration Department as the valedictorian of her class. She received her M.A. from Columbia University with a thesis titled "Presidential Elections in Turkey" and her Ph.D. from Leiden University with a thesis titled "Official Ideology and Civillian-ization: Coup D'etats in Turkey". In the aftermath of the February 28th coup d'etat, Aliye Öztürk was removed from her position at the university because of her headscarf. She however found part-time teaching positions at Leiden University in Netherlands, Columbia University in the United States, Al-Azhar University in Egypt, Muin University in Iran and Tübingen University in Germany.
Aliye Öztürk managed the UNICEF projects in South Africa and was granted by Nelson Mandela a distinguished service medal for her contribution to the eradication of the racist remnants of the Apartheid regime.
Currently Aliye Öztürk is actively involved in various local and international NGOs such as Young Civilians (Genç Siviller), Political Horizon Movement (Siyasi Ufuk Hareketi), Encounters Forum (Buluşma Forumu), Amnesty International and Greenpeace. She is married and a mother of four kids. Öztürk speaks Kurdish, Zazaki, English, German, Arabic and Persian. She has published in different languages various articles and twenty books, including a poetry book titled "Innocence" (Masumiyet). All of these publications dwell upon political and social problems. In addition to being interested in various sports such as football, equestrianism, track and ice-skating, Öztürk is an avid movie-buff and also an music enthusiast who takes a strong interest in Turkey's traditional stringed instruments, particularly kanun and baglama, as well as reed flute.
ALIYE ÖZTÜRK'S PROMISES ABOUT....
Democratization:
* I will not let through the gates of Çankaya Residence anyone who has in his/her life engaged in any sort of coup d'etat attempt and supported in any way one of the four military coup d'etats. To find out such individuals, I will despatch Nazlı Ilıcak to the gates as a special envoy.
* I will fight against the habit of keeping files about one's fellow citizens, a habit that the people of beautiful country are being hooked onto at schools. I will disband all sorts of filing, whether it takes the form of a reading card, police intelligence file, or sales receipt. Only electric jacks will remain. With Allah's blessing, we will find a new name for it, eliminating its linguistic references to files and filing.
* I will put together a gang to fight the counter-guerilla and the mafia. Soon I will need another gang to eliminate the first one, and will seek help from another gang to eliminate the second one, and then another one to ...
* I will not look for "the deep state" in the depths far away. I will always keep in mind that the members of the deep state may be very close to me, even on the other side of the phone line or in the garden of my residence. If necessary, I will have special forces with K-9s search every inch of the state for the members of the deep state.
* I will put an end to the commemorations held in stadiums on May 19th and April 23rd, commemorations that one can nowadays only find in underdeveloped Third World countries. Doing as such, I will save the sanity of my country's children and youth and also myself who will be forced to stand up throughout the commemoration.
Secularism:
* When I move to the Presidential Residence, I will put an end to the habit of saying "have a secular day" instead of "have a good day" and also "secular evening" instead of "good evening". I will economize the usage of the word secularism.
* I will tell Mr. and Mrs. Sezer to take their public sphere and leave.
* In every sphere, whether it is a public sphere or not, I will sing along Emel Sayın's "what an ordeal, my love, what an ordeal" and then cry out "Allah" with everyone present there.
* In my public messages about the Eid, I will not warn about the threats to secularism and thereby disturb anyone's comfort and serenity of mind.
Foreign Policy:
* I will not be one of those Turkish Presidents that equate Turkey with Çankaya and Turkey's neighbors with Keçiören and Mamak.
* I will not reprimand my country's ministers when meeting with the leaders of other countries. Even though I do not like pursuing the state business with a dead solemn face, I will not slacken off as such.
* I will not feel the need to consult with Doğu Perinçek before signing the UN treaties on international human rights. When Palestinians are in such a dire situation, I will not go to Israel, singing "we are the blossoms of the same rose sapling".
* After being elected as the President, I will spit on Bush's face at our first encounter. To prevent a consequent crisis between the two countries, I will pretend as if I sneeze.
* I will invite Talabani and Barzani to Ankara. During the reception organized in their honor, lahmacuns from Tatlıses Restaurants will be served and music will be performed by Aynur Doğan and Rojin.
* When I go to Iran, I will take off my headscarf to protest the obligatory veiling in that country.
* As a person of responsibility, I will try to conceal my resentment against Angela Merkel, despatching Nur Yerlitaş to take care of her terrifyingly miserable attire and also recommending her to talk to Ender Saraç especially about losing her love handles.
* I will give a CD of Janissary marches to the European leaders that are against Turkey's accession to European Union.
Appointments and Patronage Politics:
* I will try my best to pursue the principles of patronage politics in appointing new officials.
* In making bureaucratic appointments, I will not consult to the files kept in secret vaults but to the star maps used in fortune-telling. If the astrological sign of the minister supervising the state institution with the vacant position is congruent with the astrological sign of the nominee, I will sign the decree of appointment.
* I will commission the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund to liquidate the Turkish Council of Higher Education. Until the council is liquidated, I will appoint Şerif Mardin as its chairperson. I will also appoint well-known personas, such Murat Belge, Mehmet Altan, Ahmet İnsel, and Hüseyin Hatemi, as council members.
* I will appoint Perihan Mağden as the Chairperson of Radio and Television Supreme Council and Armağan Çağlayan as the Director of Turkish State Radio and Television.
* I will appoint Mustafa Erdoğan as the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court and Şanar Yurdatapan ve Abdurrahman Dilipak as the members of the Constitutional Court.
Social Relations in a Civilized Manner:
* I will be a modern, civilized President who communicates with all segments of the society. I will not forget that I am a human being, I will not behave as a space alien, and I will not think that I am a feudal lord just because I live at the palace-like Residence.
* When I speak on TV, I will not put on the face of someone that suffers from hemorrhoid. I will always smile. At the end of my speech, I will either tell a joke or read a poem about the issue under discussion.
* I will request Cem Yılmaz to perform at the Residence in order to help politicians as well as the military and civil bureaucrats enhance their sense of humor.
* Again, to help politicians as well as the military and civil bureaucrats, this time to soften their hearts, I will organize a special screening of "My Father and My Son" (Babam ve Oğlum). I will give a minus grade to those who do not cry.
* As a democrat, I will respect the Chairperson of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, regardless of his/her party affiliation and political views. Like any civilized person, I will not grimace while shaking his/her hand.
* I will grant the state medal Yaşar Kemal, Sezai Karakoç and Fikret Başkaya of Turkey, as well as Noam Chomsky and Cindy Sheehan.
* I will invite Orhan Pamuk to the Residence, congratulate him on his Nobel Award even though it is too late, and give a feast in his honor. To this feast I will invite only the members of the state protocol that have read his books.
* I will participate in the commencements and inaugural ceremonies organized only by the Fishery Faculties. I will not participate in any other ceremonies organized by the military schools and the universities affiliated with the Turkish Council of Higher Education.
* I will not wait in line at the supermarket. I will find out how much a kilo of tomatoes cost at the farmer's market. I will quarrel with any seller that will not allow me to select before buying his/her product.
The Cankaya Residence and Receptions:
* First off, I will clean and wipe every corner of the Çankaya Residence three times.
* I will change today's prevalent perception that "the citizens inundated the Residence so much so that the populace cannot get in Çankaya". To this end, I will open up the Çankaya Residence to the populace. On the last day of each work-week, I will give a tea party for citizens in groups of 15 as selected by Turkish National Lottery Administration. Depending on the state of the national economy, we may also organize gold- or dollar- days.
* Once during my tenure, my husband and I will stop doing our own work for a day and work over-time to determine male parliamentarians whose wives are not covered. We will then send them "invitations with no company" so that they can empathize with their peers whose wives are covered.
* I will eliminate at the Residence the concept of working hours. I will sign the documents that arrive after 5:30 pm. I will not tell my Minister of Foreign Affairs that "I cannot do it today, come tomorrow".
* On Aşure Day, I will cook a boiler of aşure and distribute it to all my neighbors. During the month of Muharrem, I will organize cem sessions at the Residence.
* At the Residence there will be Friday Prayers that only women may attend.
* I will not kill time from my presidential tenure by gluing myself and my husband to the TV and watching the boring debates on Kanaltürk. If I have time, we may watch, just like all my normal citizens, TV series such as "The European Coast" (Avrupa Yakası) or "Remember My Darling" (Hatırla Sevgili)
* I will make Atatürk's documents public, the documents that are kept under lock in the Museum of Çankaya Residence. I will organize a gathering to commemorate the memory of Latife Hanım, the first First Lady of the Residence.
* In the Residence's garden, I will practice "throwing the Constitution like a dart". I will undertake extensive endeavors to have this eminent sport to be included in the Olympic Games. I will preach about throwing the Constitution further away and also about adding many new articles in order to case the utmost suffering to the rivals.
-- Yoshie