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BIAnet.org, Turkey
Sept 6 2012
`The AKP Could Never Internalize Democracy'
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has increasingly come
to view an authoritarian approach to politics as a solution to its own
failures, renowned journalist and writer Prof. Mehmet Altan told
bianet.
Ekin KARACA
The "Kurdish Initiative" launched by the incumbent government of the
Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2009 has since then
deteriorated into a tough "statist" rhetoric accompanied by calls for
the re-introduction of the death penalty.
Sadık Yakut, an AKP deputy from the central province of Kayseri,
issued a statement through his Twitter account on Aug. 25, suggesting
the abolition of the legislative immunity of deputies connected to
"terrorism" and the revival of capital punishment.
"Of course, [the death penalty] can be revived if society demands it.
Besides, society is focused on this path. I also believe the ban on
capital punishment ought to be lifted," he told the daily Hürriyet.
We spoke to Prof. Mehmet Altan, a renowned journalist and a writer,
about the AKP's ever toughening rhetoric on the Kurdish issue which
occasionally seems reminiscient of the language employed by the
National Security Council (MGK,) a far cry from the days it had
announced its "Kurdish Initiative."
The AKP never internalized democracy, and once the idea of
democratization lost its currency, failures followed one after the
other, Prof. Altan said, adding that the government then grew
increasingly more authoritarian in consequence.
"They perceive authoritarianism as the sole remedy for mounting failures"
Referring to democracy as a "difficult story," Prof. Altan said it was
not easy for someone born in Turkey today to internalize a democratic
culture.
"Unless you have an internal democratic guide, and if you think that
democracy is no answer and have no such goal as democratizing the
regime, then you fail to solve the problems and inadvertantly revert
back to the old, bygone methods that you had once been subjected to
yourself."
"It is because the AKP's management is so far removed from being a
structure that has internalized democracy that its failures begin to
mount the moment it drops the issue of democratization from the
agenda. As staying in power, rather than democratization, turns into
their first and only aim, they believe they can achieve this by
force."
"This is a dead end. When you drop the issues of democracy and
democratization, failures begin to mount, and you perceive
authoritarianism as the sole remedy in turn."
"The AKP attempted to take certain steps during the process of the
[Kurdish] Initiative without internalizing democracy. It was
impossible to reach a solution without first asking whether the PKK
(Kurdistan Workers' Party) represented a cause or an effect."
"The U.S. was to withdraw from Iraq, according to the plan. The U.S.
had also desired the mending of ties between Turkey and north Iraq.
The PKK was the only problem there. The prevalent perception was that
they would pull Syrian militants from up [north] with help from north
Iraq and the U.S., and they would thus solve the problem."
"They did not analyze the [situation to realize that] this issue has a
sociological basis and that it was always a problem throughout
Turkey's entire republican history. This problem could have been
resolved, however, if they had asked the fundamental question of
whether the PKK constituted the cause or the effect."
"The AKP is a nationalist, conservative, Sunni and Islamist party"
The AKP began losing the initiative along with its accentuation of
Islamism instead of democratization, leading to a tightening squeeze
with respect to the government's inability to solve the problem, and
Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek was thus forced to take the initiative
himself to resolve the Kurdish issue, according to Prof. Altan.
We asked Prof. Altan about the prospects of a rupture within the AKP
in light of the negative reactions elicited by Çiçek's initiative both
from certain AKP members and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an,
despite the amenable response of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP.)
"The AKP has turned into a nationalist, conservative, Sunni and
Islamist party. The AKP wants keep going for the rest of its tenure by
reshaping its coalition, allying with the MHP (Nationalist Movement
Party) and the military brass and [acting like its predecessors.]"
"The presence of an interior minister like Ä°dris Naim Å?ahin is an
indication that the AKP is growing increasingly more similar to the
MHP, rather than democratizing. I believe this situation is a policy
[directly crafted by Prime Minister] ErdoÄ?an."
"The AKP dreams of replacing secularism with religion"
The AKP's only goal is to accrue votes and stay in power, Prof. Altan said.
"[The AKP] had received 58 percent of the votes in the referandum when
it had called for change. A new mind-set which aims to come to terms
with Ankara, the military and the status quo following the AKP's
takeover of the state has come about, however. I do not believe this
will help them muster the [proportion of] votes they desire, or meet
Turkey's demands. The current shape of things also points in this
direction."
"The AKP also dreams of becoming a Mustafa Kemal (Turkey's founder)
[with a twist] by replacing secularism with religion instead. None of
this will yield any results, however. Over a year has passed since the
elections, and this period has also shown that no results will come
about."
"As the AKP is a highly pragmatic party, they could also turn very
progressive, very democratic, liberal and revolutionary all of a
sudden. But this would entirely nullify their persuasiveness over the
past decade."
"The issue, however, is not about what the AKP may or may not be; it
is making sure that the reforms which Turkey needs come through. It
would be no cause for surprise if they attempted a very serious
'initiative' if they see they are going to lose the government." (EKN)
http://bianet.org/english/politics/140600-the-akp-could-never-internalize-democracy
Sept 6 2012
`The AKP Could Never Internalize Democracy'
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has increasingly come
to view an authoritarian approach to politics as a solution to its own
failures, renowned journalist and writer Prof. Mehmet Altan told
bianet.
Ekin KARACA
The "Kurdish Initiative" launched by the incumbent government of the
Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2009 has since then
deteriorated into a tough "statist" rhetoric accompanied by calls for
the re-introduction of the death penalty.
Sadık Yakut, an AKP deputy from the central province of Kayseri,
issued a statement through his Twitter account on Aug. 25, suggesting
the abolition of the legislative immunity of deputies connected to
"terrorism" and the revival of capital punishment.
"Of course, [the death penalty] can be revived if society demands it.
Besides, society is focused on this path. I also believe the ban on
capital punishment ought to be lifted," he told the daily Hürriyet.
We spoke to Prof. Mehmet Altan, a renowned journalist and a writer,
about the AKP's ever toughening rhetoric on the Kurdish issue which
occasionally seems reminiscient of the language employed by the
National Security Council (MGK,) a far cry from the days it had
announced its "Kurdish Initiative."
The AKP never internalized democracy, and once the idea of
democratization lost its currency, failures followed one after the
other, Prof. Altan said, adding that the government then grew
increasingly more authoritarian in consequence.
"They perceive authoritarianism as the sole remedy for mounting failures"
Referring to democracy as a "difficult story," Prof. Altan said it was
not easy for someone born in Turkey today to internalize a democratic
culture.
"Unless you have an internal democratic guide, and if you think that
democracy is no answer and have no such goal as democratizing the
regime, then you fail to solve the problems and inadvertantly revert
back to the old, bygone methods that you had once been subjected to
yourself."
"It is because the AKP's management is so far removed from being a
structure that has internalized democracy that its failures begin to
mount the moment it drops the issue of democratization from the
agenda. As staying in power, rather than democratization, turns into
their first and only aim, they believe they can achieve this by
force."
"This is a dead end. When you drop the issues of democracy and
democratization, failures begin to mount, and you perceive
authoritarianism as the sole remedy in turn."
"The AKP attempted to take certain steps during the process of the
[Kurdish] Initiative without internalizing democracy. It was
impossible to reach a solution without first asking whether the PKK
(Kurdistan Workers' Party) represented a cause or an effect."
"The U.S. was to withdraw from Iraq, according to the plan. The U.S.
had also desired the mending of ties between Turkey and north Iraq.
The PKK was the only problem there. The prevalent perception was that
they would pull Syrian militants from up [north] with help from north
Iraq and the U.S., and they would thus solve the problem."
"They did not analyze the [situation to realize that] this issue has a
sociological basis and that it was always a problem throughout
Turkey's entire republican history. This problem could have been
resolved, however, if they had asked the fundamental question of
whether the PKK constituted the cause or the effect."
"The AKP is a nationalist, conservative, Sunni and Islamist party"
The AKP began losing the initiative along with its accentuation of
Islamism instead of democratization, leading to a tightening squeeze
with respect to the government's inability to solve the problem, and
Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek was thus forced to take the initiative
himself to resolve the Kurdish issue, according to Prof. Altan.
We asked Prof. Altan about the prospects of a rupture within the AKP
in light of the negative reactions elicited by Çiçek's initiative both
from certain AKP members and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an,
despite the amenable response of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP.)
"The AKP has turned into a nationalist, conservative, Sunni and
Islamist party. The AKP wants keep going for the rest of its tenure by
reshaping its coalition, allying with the MHP (Nationalist Movement
Party) and the military brass and [acting like its predecessors.]"
"The presence of an interior minister like Ä°dris Naim Å?ahin is an
indication that the AKP is growing increasingly more similar to the
MHP, rather than democratizing. I believe this situation is a policy
[directly crafted by Prime Minister] ErdoÄ?an."
"The AKP dreams of replacing secularism with religion"
The AKP's only goal is to accrue votes and stay in power, Prof. Altan said.
"[The AKP] had received 58 percent of the votes in the referandum when
it had called for change. A new mind-set which aims to come to terms
with Ankara, the military and the status quo following the AKP's
takeover of the state has come about, however. I do not believe this
will help them muster the [proportion of] votes they desire, or meet
Turkey's demands. The current shape of things also points in this
direction."
"The AKP also dreams of becoming a Mustafa Kemal (Turkey's founder)
[with a twist] by replacing secularism with religion instead. None of
this will yield any results, however. Over a year has passed since the
elections, and this period has also shown that no results will come
about."
"As the AKP is a highly pragmatic party, they could also turn very
progressive, very democratic, liberal and revolutionary all of a
sudden. But this would entirely nullify their persuasiveness over the
past decade."
"The issue, however, is not about what the AKP may or may not be; it
is making sure that the reforms which Turkey needs come through. It
would be no cause for surprise if they attempted a very serious
'initiative' if they see they are going to lose the government." (EKN)
http://bianet.org/english/politics/140600-the-akp-could-never-internalize-democracy