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THE CONFLICT OVER TURKEY'S RIVEN SOUL
FT
February 23 2010 22:25
Arresting 51 officers, among them former chiefs of the navy and air
force, is Turkey's most striking act of iconoclasm yet against the
devoutly secularist establishment that has governed the country for
a near-century.
The raid follows the publication last month of documents allegedly
showing senior commanders had plotted a coup against the Islam-inspired
AK party. The response to "Sledgehammer" (the plot's codename) is not
the first crackdown on supposed military insubordination: an ongoing
investigation into the so-called Ergenekon group has already brought
officers to trial. But the latest move strikes at the very top of a
military elite that sees itself as guardian of strict secularism -
a role in which it has repeatedly seen fit to forcibly remove elected
governments.
Few expect the bad old ways of armed intervention to return. But
the tensions reveal how deep is the rift that destabilises Turkey's
politics. Military and professional elites' resistance to AKP's modest
softening of Turkey's secularism is not the only source of distrust.
There is also the economic and political challenge to the old
metropolitan Kemalist establishment by an emerging conservative middle
class. The divisions are taking root within state institutions as
well as between them: the judiciary is riven with power struggles.
This instability is not only bad for Turks. It also undermines the
constructive role Turkey could otherwise play in the world. By the
Middle East's sadly defective standards, it has long been a beacon
of relative stability and openness. To Europe it holds out the
promise of a solid partner on issues from energy security to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The AKP's rise is the most tantalising promise of all, representing
as it does the nearest anyone has come to a Muslim version of modern
Christian democratic parties. It beat back accusations of stealth
Islamisation in 2007 when it gained the backing of moderate voters
far beyond its core religious constituency. Its steps towards better
relations with Greece and Armenia contrast sharply with the knee-jerk
nationalism of some opponents.
But it has been overplaying its hand. Arm-twisting of opposition media
and heavy-handed prosecutorial tactics give credence to critics. What
Turkey needs is constitutional reform to secure democracy against
undue influence by either religion or the military. That will be
difficult without a settlement in the public mind over what kind of
country Turkey is. Judicial battles will hardly make the task easier.
FT
February 23 2010 22:25
Arresting 51 officers, among them former chiefs of the navy and air
force, is Turkey's most striking act of iconoclasm yet against the
devoutly secularist establishment that has governed the country for
a near-century.
The raid follows the publication last month of documents allegedly
showing senior commanders had plotted a coup against the Islam-inspired
AK party. The response to "Sledgehammer" (the plot's codename) is not
the first crackdown on supposed military insubordination: an ongoing
investigation into the so-called Ergenekon group has already brought
officers to trial. But the latest move strikes at the very top of a
military elite that sees itself as guardian of strict secularism -
a role in which it has repeatedly seen fit to forcibly remove elected
governments.
Few expect the bad old ways of armed intervention to return. But
the tensions reveal how deep is the rift that destabilises Turkey's
politics. Military and professional elites' resistance to AKP's modest
softening of Turkey's secularism is not the only source of distrust.
There is also the economic and political challenge to the old
metropolitan Kemalist establishment by an emerging conservative middle
class. The divisions are taking root within state institutions as
well as between them: the judiciary is riven with power struggles.
This instability is not only bad for Turks. It also undermines the
constructive role Turkey could otherwise play in the world. By the
Middle East's sadly defective standards, it has long been a beacon
of relative stability and openness. To Europe it holds out the
promise of a solid partner on issues from energy security to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The AKP's rise is the most tantalising promise of all, representing
as it does the nearest anyone has come to a Muslim version of modern
Christian democratic parties. It beat back accusations of stealth
Islamisation in 2007 when it gained the backing of moderate voters
far beyond its core religious constituency. Its steps towards better
relations with Greece and Armenia contrast sharply with the knee-jerk
nationalism of some opponents.
But it has been overplaying its hand. Arm-twisting of opposition media
and heavy-handed prosecutorial tactics give credence to critics. What
Turkey needs is constitutional reform to secure democracy against
undue influence by either religion or the military. That will be
difficult without a settlement in the public mind over what kind of
country Turkey is. Judicial battles will hardly make the task easier.