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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 7 2012
The results of the Greek and Armenian elections and Turkey
HASAN KANBOLAT
[email protected]
In addition to France and Serbia, parliamentary elections were held on
May 6 in Turkey's two major neighbors: Greece and Armenia.
The Greek parliamentary elections resulted in the collapse of the
two-party system in the country. Yet no alternative party emerged as
willing to or capable of removing the ruins of the economic collapse.
The center of the political system became weaker. Small parties won
big victories. The reaction against the European Union and the dynasty
of the Greek political elites allowed new actors to emerge as the
winners of the elections. The likelihood of a snap election is being
discussed. It is true that the rise of the left in France and Greece
is purely the result of dissatisfaction with the center-right parties.
But will the left be able to make this victory permanent? Will it
realize that it will melt away as it moves closer to the rightists'
policies? Time will tell.
In Armenia, we saw the recurrence of a typical post-Soviet
development. The political scene did not change. President Serzh
Sarksyan's Republican Party (HHK) won the election by securing 44.5
percent of the national vote. This means that the state and the public
will continue to be in permanent crisis. Armenians' hopes about
democracy, increased welfare, the elimination of poverty, the fight
against corruption and change have been postponed to another time.
Greek Ambassador to Turkey Fotios-Jean Xydas ran for parliament from
the Democratic Alliance. But the Democratic Alliance failed to pass
the 3 percent election threshold. Xydas is from Mytilene. Like many
diplomats in the Greek Embassy in Ankara, he is originally from
Anatolia. Speaking about Turkish-Greek relations, Xydas had said,
`Today's developments result from the public opinion of the two
countries rather than from politics.' What Greek political elites fail
to see, Xydas sees and he makes bold statements about it.
The results of the parliamentary elections in Greece and Armenia were
to indicate whether these countries would be able to get rid of the
current internal political instability, frozen political processes and
economic deadlock. Yet, we see that the current results are far from
offering any solution to the ongoing political or economic problems.
The results of the parliamentary elections imply that the public's
trust in the existing system will decrease further. In both countries,
political parties fail to instill hope in the public or produce
realistic projects. As a result, elections fail to solve any problems.
Therefore, these two countries should accept the fact that they need
regional cooperation and solidarity in a globalizing world.
Considering the geography in which Greece and Armenia are located,
they can only obtain stability to the extent that they work with
Turkey. This is what has happened in the past. Both countries should
now realize that the policies that target Turkey are far from being
functional. Athens and Yerevan gain nothing by confronting Ankara.
Both countries should understand that the West is politically and
geographically far from them (Armenia is also far from Russia) and the
solution is to work with Turkey. The three countries need each other.
Athens and Ankara are working on a new arrangement that would minimize
the risk of tension over the Aegean Sea. Ankara is taking the
preliminary steps for a new political initiative via the South
Caucasian railways. These are confidence-building steps. Yet, bold
steps must be taken for the integration of different peoples. The
Greek islands have to increase economic integration with Anatolia in
order to get rid of the economic crisis. To this end, Turkey should
provide power and water to these islands. Today, producing power from
diesel oil is both expensive and pollutes the environment. Moreover,
Turks should be allowed to visit the Greek islands first without a
visa and then with only their ID cards. Cultural centers should be
opened mutually in both countries. In addition, Turkey and Greece
should take steps for economic integration under an umbrella
organization of the Aegean Union.
Turkey should unilaterally allow Armenian citizens to enter Turkey
with their ID cards -- just like Greek, Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (KKTC) and Georgian citizens. As the doors of political
diplomacy are closed, the doors of economic diplomacy should be
opened. Baku does not want Turkey and Armenia to establish political
ties before the issue of its Armenian-occupied lands is solved. It is
right in this respect. But in order to regain the occupied
territories, Baku will either dare to wage war against Armenia or seek
a peaceful solution by allowing Armenia to democratize and integrate
into the EU. The road to Armenia's democratization goes through
Turkey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
May 7 2012
The results of the Greek and Armenian elections and Turkey
HASAN KANBOLAT
[email protected]
In addition to France and Serbia, parliamentary elections were held on
May 6 in Turkey's two major neighbors: Greece and Armenia.
The Greek parliamentary elections resulted in the collapse of the
two-party system in the country. Yet no alternative party emerged as
willing to or capable of removing the ruins of the economic collapse.
The center of the political system became weaker. Small parties won
big victories. The reaction against the European Union and the dynasty
of the Greek political elites allowed new actors to emerge as the
winners of the elections. The likelihood of a snap election is being
discussed. It is true that the rise of the left in France and Greece
is purely the result of dissatisfaction with the center-right parties.
But will the left be able to make this victory permanent? Will it
realize that it will melt away as it moves closer to the rightists'
policies? Time will tell.
In Armenia, we saw the recurrence of a typical post-Soviet
development. The political scene did not change. President Serzh
Sarksyan's Republican Party (HHK) won the election by securing 44.5
percent of the national vote. This means that the state and the public
will continue to be in permanent crisis. Armenians' hopes about
democracy, increased welfare, the elimination of poverty, the fight
against corruption and change have been postponed to another time.
Greek Ambassador to Turkey Fotios-Jean Xydas ran for parliament from
the Democratic Alliance. But the Democratic Alliance failed to pass
the 3 percent election threshold. Xydas is from Mytilene. Like many
diplomats in the Greek Embassy in Ankara, he is originally from
Anatolia. Speaking about Turkish-Greek relations, Xydas had said,
`Today's developments result from the public opinion of the two
countries rather than from politics.' What Greek political elites fail
to see, Xydas sees and he makes bold statements about it.
The results of the parliamentary elections in Greece and Armenia were
to indicate whether these countries would be able to get rid of the
current internal political instability, frozen political processes and
economic deadlock. Yet, we see that the current results are far from
offering any solution to the ongoing political or economic problems.
The results of the parliamentary elections imply that the public's
trust in the existing system will decrease further. In both countries,
political parties fail to instill hope in the public or produce
realistic projects. As a result, elections fail to solve any problems.
Therefore, these two countries should accept the fact that they need
regional cooperation and solidarity in a globalizing world.
Considering the geography in which Greece and Armenia are located,
they can only obtain stability to the extent that they work with
Turkey. This is what has happened in the past. Both countries should
now realize that the policies that target Turkey are far from being
functional. Athens and Yerevan gain nothing by confronting Ankara.
Both countries should understand that the West is politically and
geographically far from them (Armenia is also far from Russia) and the
solution is to work with Turkey. The three countries need each other.
Athens and Ankara are working on a new arrangement that would minimize
the risk of tension over the Aegean Sea. Ankara is taking the
preliminary steps for a new political initiative via the South
Caucasian railways. These are confidence-building steps. Yet, bold
steps must be taken for the integration of different peoples. The
Greek islands have to increase economic integration with Anatolia in
order to get rid of the economic crisis. To this end, Turkey should
provide power and water to these islands. Today, producing power from
diesel oil is both expensive and pollutes the environment. Moreover,
Turks should be allowed to visit the Greek islands first without a
visa and then with only their ID cards. Cultural centers should be
opened mutually in both countries. In addition, Turkey and Greece
should take steps for economic integration under an umbrella
organization of the Aegean Union.
Turkey should unilaterally allow Armenian citizens to enter Turkey
with their ID cards -- just like Greek, Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (KKTC) and Georgian citizens. As the doors of political
diplomacy are closed, the doors of economic diplomacy should be
opened. Baku does not want Turkey and Armenia to establish political
ties before the issue of its Armenian-occupied lands is solved. It is
right in this respect. But in order to regain the occupied
territories, Baku will either dare to wage war against Armenia or seek
a peaceful solution by allowing Armenia to democratize and integrate
into the EU. The road to Armenia's democratization goes through
Turkey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress