The international community and the world media are apparently up in arms against the current Turkish government. They tend to blow out of proportion even the pettiest of Turkey’s domestic issues.
As an analyst, this writer believes that they don’t have a proper understanding of the Turkish society and its sociopolitical dynamics. Well, they cannot be blamed, as it is hard to fathom — for the West in particular — a center-right party in a multi-party democratic country coming to power for three consecutive terms. Interestingly, many western observers believe (they really do!) that the Turkish people “mistakenly” voted the AKP to power without properly taking into consideration the sociopolitical implications of their decision. To those respected political pundits, this writer wants to say that people commit mistake once not thrice. This shows a lack of proper knowledge about Turkey and its vibrant society.
When it comes to democracy, Turkish democracy is older than that of many European countries. Throughout the history of modern Turkey, coalition governments have been formed and those alliances included political parties of all hues. It is a country rocked many a time by coups. It remained exposed to attacks by the Communist PKK for many years. A careful and objective study of Turkey’s politics will make it clear that the Turkish “masses” have never favored left-wing politics.
Observers may recall that the AKP emerged on the political scene with a vision, at a time when Turkey needed it the most. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) entered the arena as a party with moderate views led by devout Muslims. This was a rare combination and took the country by storm. Turkish people don’t like comprising on their basic rights and freedoms and naturally inclined toward devout people. In addition to that Recep Teyyip Erdogan’s performance as the mayor of Istanbul helped shape public opinion in the favor of the AKP.
Fortunately, the Turkish people did not regret their decision. That is why; they continued electing the same people in three consecutive elections. While some voices from the outside sought to impugn the Turkish government using concepts such as “Islamist,” it nonetheless increased its share of the vote because Turkey was changing. How?
Let us start with the economy: Before 2002, Turkey had been begging the IMF for loans, but now it has repaid them. In addition, it is going to open a $5 billion credit line for the IMF: It is now Turkey doing the lending. The GDP has increased by 350 percent in the last 11 years, per capita income has raised threefold, the minimum wage fourfold, the total holdings of public banks almost sevenfold, exports fourfold and the Central Bank’s foreign exchange reserves fourfold. Over the last 11 years, social assistance has increased by a whopping 1,200 percent, from $1.5 to $18 billion. Tourism has increased by 22 percent.
The number of universities in Turkey has jumped from 76 to 200 in the last 10 years; 232 dams, 17,000 km of roads and 26 new airports have been built. The Marmaray subway under the Bosphorus, to be supported by a roadway in 2015, was a historic step.
While more than $2 billion has been given to the needy, the industrial sector has grown by 31.4 percent, and Turkey has become the world’s fifteenth largest economy and the second fastest growing.
Only over a decade ago, Turkey had sizeable segment of the middleclass living below the poverty line. Serpentine queues of people to get oil and cheese were a common sight. In short, Turkey was in a complete mess. Successive governments came to power with promises of “two keys” (house and car), yet the people grew even poorer. After the AKP government, however, even the memory of those difficulties faded. The promise of two keys has, to a large extent, become reality. World-class health care services are now available to the masses.
This government is the only one that has admitted a million refugees from Syria without waiting for UN aid. It is mainly due to the current government that the Turkish people can travel two-third of the world without visas. Turkey is part of almost every known international organization. If some people wish some other party to take the reins of the country, they must come up with a better alternative. That alternative force must not reverse the gains made over these years. It must maintain Turkey’s position as an attractive investment hub for foreigners and try to protect rights of Muslims all across the world.
It must have the capability to cope with issues of internal terror. It has to ensure rights of minorities, combat secret organizations within the state, and stand firm in the face of rumors of coups. Like the current government, it should not discriminate between those who cover their heads and those who do not.
Frankly, this writer sees no such alternative. Only thing that is apparent is some forces are hell bent on destabilizing Turkey. Here a question arises: Why and who would want that to happen? The answer to that: Communists, Islamophobes and those who want a major war in the Middle East. Those who talk of corruption operations in order to create turmoil are either using them as a pretext or else are being used as tools. The manner in which the corruption case has been used to malign the government is beyond comprehension. Where in the world a government is replaced on these grounds?
Since the Gezi protests, the government is faced with one issue or the other. Patriotic people smell rat. Something is cooking against Turkey.
The only way out of the current political mess is to think in the larger interest of the country. The Turkish people have to say no to those who are trying to foment unrest. They can fight these elements if they close ranks. In a bid to tackle such elements, the masses must not resort to violence, as this will only aggravate the situation. Let us not forget that a weakened Turkey can only fan the flames already engulfing the Middle East.
- The writer is a commentator on Turkish TV & a columnist.
