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TURKEY THROUGH THE HEADLINES
Today's Zaman
Feb 6 2012
Turkey
When I travel abroad and follow events in Turkey through online
newspapers, I am always struck by how quickly I sense that I am losing
a true feel for developments back home. My understanding of Turkey,
I have always felt, rests not just on analysis of current events but
it also has a strange sensory dimension. Without actually breathing
the air of the country and walking through its streets, seeing the
larger picture beyond the headlines and picking up trends and changes
of mood becomes a lot harder.
The same undoubtedly applies to most countries in the world: Media
reports only provide a two-dimensional picture, based on a handful
of developments deemed newsworthy. And we probably underestimate the
information gathering simply by walking in the streets and watching
people go about their daily business.
But viewing developments in Turkey through the prism of headlines and
news articles alone also has its uses. It is after all as outsiders
see it. And perhaps imagining how their actions reflect on their
countryâ~@~Ys perceptions abroad, and not just on how they play to a
domestic audience, is something that Turkish political leaders should
attempt to do more often.
The polemic that has developed between novelist Paul Auster and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ~_an is a case in point. I greatly admire
Auster as a writer and always enjoy his books. I also share his views
that it does not befit a country like Turkey to lay charges against
so many writers -- or indeed that so many people are spending lengthy
periods in pre-trial detention, before they can defend themselves in
front of a court.
But I have always believed that the best contribution foreigners can
make to challenging the status quo is to visit the country, interact
with its people and express their views on the ground. In the â~@~X90s,
when the human rights situation was particularly bad in Turkey, I had
long arguments with friends who refused to set foot in the country,
and I tried to convince them that extended contacts and exposure to
different ideas was important to broaden the minds of the visitors
and the local residents alike.
But Auster is entitled to his own opinions and his stance is a valid
one. Had Prime Minister ErdoÄ~_an not stepped into the argument,
the writerâ~@~Ys statements would have been quickly forgotten. But
the prime ministerâ~@~Ys flippant statements and the mocking tone
he adopts all too frequently when he wants to dismiss critics, be
they environmentalists, members of the opposition or well-respected
foreign novelists, has only lent credence to the view that Turkeyâ~@~Ys
charismatic leader brooks no dissent and is exhibiting an increasingly
intolerant streak. It is particularly unfortunate because the
perception of Turkey that is developing as a result distracts from
the countryâ~@~Ys real achievements over the past decade.
Unfortunately, this war of words is not the only shadow hanging over
Turkey at the moment. More developments may yet follow in the Hrant
Dink case, but the impact of the disastrous court verdict will not
easily be shaken off. The news that an Armenian house of worship was
destroyed by the Malatya Municipality will only serve to strengthen the
view that Turkeyâ~@~Ys old statist mentality, which viewed minorities
as threats, has morphed into a new form but remains alive. And while
Prime Minister ErdoÄ~_an spoke forcefully about secularism during
his visits to Arab countries, his recent remarks about wanting to
bring up a religious youth will revive the debate about secularism,
whether it really exists in Turkey and how it is defined.
Turkeyâ~@~Ys progress in the past decade is reflected in the
countryâ~@~Ys growing impact on the international scene and its
rising economic power. But the countryâ~@~Ys politicians have always
tended to be over-sensitive to alternative views and unable to grasp
that, since no one is ever perfect, paying attention to constructive
criticism is an important tool for progress. These days, it is hard
to escape the conclusion that the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
governmentâ~@~Ys overreaction to events is at times undermining its
own achievements.
Today's Zaman
Feb 6 2012
Turkey
When I travel abroad and follow events in Turkey through online
newspapers, I am always struck by how quickly I sense that I am losing
a true feel for developments back home. My understanding of Turkey,
I have always felt, rests not just on analysis of current events but
it also has a strange sensory dimension. Without actually breathing
the air of the country and walking through its streets, seeing the
larger picture beyond the headlines and picking up trends and changes
of mood becomes a lot harder.
The same undoubtedly applies to most countries in the world: Media
reports only provide a two-dimensional picture, based on a handful
of developments deemed newsworthy. And we probably underestimate the
information gathering simply by walking in the streets and watching
people go about their daily business.
But viewing developments in Turkey through the prism of headlines and
news articles alone also has its uses. It is after all as outsiders
see it. And perhaps imagining how their actions reflect on their
countryâ~@~Ys perceptions abroad, and not just on how they play to a
domestic audience, is something that Turkish political leaders should
attempt to do more often.
The polemic that has developed between novelist Paul Auster and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ~_an is a case in point. I greatly admire
Auster as a writer and always enjoy his books. I also share his views
that it does not befit a country like Turkey to lay charges against
so many writers -- or indeed that so many people are spending lengthy
periods in pre-trial detention, before they can defend themselves in
front of a court.
But I have always believed that the best contribution foreigners can
make to challenging the status quo is to visit the country, interact
with its people and express their views on the ground. In the â~@~X90s,
when the human rights situation was particularly bad in Turkey, I had
long arguments with friends who refused to set foot in the country,
and I tried to convince them that extended contacts and exposure to
different ideas was important to broaden the minds of the visitors
and the local residents alike.
But Auster is entitled to his own opinions and his stance is a valid
one. Had Prime Minister ErdoÄ~_an not stepped into the argument,
the writerâ~@~Ys statements would have been quickly forgotten. But
the prime ministerâ~@~Ys flippant statements and the mocking tone
he adopts all too frequently when he wants to dismiss critics, be
they environmentalists, members of the opposition or well-respected
foreign novelists, has only lent credence to the view that Turkeyâ~@~Ys
charismatic leader brooks no dissent and is exhibiting an increasingly
intolerant streak. It is particularly unfortunate because the
perception of Turkey that is developing as a result distracts from
the countryâ~@~Ys real achievements over the past decade.
Unfortunately, this war of words is not the only shadow hanging over
Turkey at the moment. More developments may yet follow in the Hrant
Dink case, but the impact of the disastrous court verdict will not
easily be shaken off. The news that an Armenian house of worship was
destroyed by the Malatya Municipality will only serve to strengthen the
view that Turkeyâ~@~Ys old statist mentality, which viewed minorities
as threats, has morphed into a new form but remains alive. And while
Prime Minister ErdoÄ~_an spoke forcefully about secularism during
his visits to Arab countries, his recent remarks about wanting to
bring up a religious youth will revive the debate about secularism,
whether it really exists in Turkey and how it is defined.
Turkeyâ~@~Ys progress in the past decade is reflected in the
countryâ~@~Ys growing impact on the international scene and its
rising economic power. But the countryâ~@~Ys politicians have always
tended to be over-sensitive to alternative views and unable to grasp
that, since no one is ever perfect, paying attention to constructive
criticism is an important tool for progress. These days, it is hard
to escape the conclusion that the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
governmentâ~@~Ys overreaction to events is at times undermining its
own achievements.