Posted on 04/27/2003 5:31:46 AM PDT by pkpjamestown
Effort to Reconcile Islam, Democracy Showing Few Results After Six Months
"In recent months, that has meant retreating from plans to expand academic freedom by reshaping the university system, to grant women the right to wear head scarves in schools and public buildings, to limit the army's power to expel soldiers accused of religious extremism and to adopt a softer position in negotiations with Greece over the fate of Cyprus. The party has also been unable or unwilling to force the bureaucracy to implement new laws aimed at granting the minority Kurdish population greater cultural rights."
"Erdogan and his colleagues "are very scared of the state apparatus. They think the only way to deal with the state apparatus is to ally with it," said Cuneyt Ulsever, a prominent writer and economist who supported the party. "So they end up doing what the establishment tells them to do.""
"In many ways, Erdogan is haunted by the failure of the Islamist movement led by his former mentor Necmettin Erbakan. When Erbakan was elected prime minister in 1995, he too promised to respect Turkey's secular system. But he angered the military by championing increasingly radical policies, and was ousted two years later."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
...grant women the right to wear head scarves in schools and public buildings, to limit the army's power to expel soldiers accused of religious extremism ...
In addition, the framers of the new Iraqi constitution are bound to look at the Turkish example for ideas in designing their own government. And in addition, Turkey should be able to benefit commercially from transhipping Iraqi oil to the Med.
But it's entirely possible that with Iraq suddenly turned into a state which looks at least partly to Turkey as a model, that Turkey will turn to the south. It already has ties with Israel; make Iraq cordial (to the extent that friction with the Kurds can be finessed) and there is a real southern option open to Turkey. IMHO.
Not quite democratic yet! The army controls the country from behind the scenes. If the army thread ever gets out of the picture, the outcome is unpredictable (civil war, Islamic fundamentalism, or true democracy) That is why there is pressure from the west for reform, with ultimate prize the entrance into the EU.
The present government wants more control. By following the people's wish to stay out of the war, they kept their support from masses and at the same time they spoiled the good relation of the Turkish army with the US. Their objection in collaborating with US plans with regards of the war, was not an attack against the US, but indirect attack against the old establishment and the Generals.
Turkey's neighborhood just got a lot safer, so they aren't entirely losers in the Iraq war.
I agree!
If you are referring to the Turkish style Democracy, as I explained above, yes it is going to work for short term in Iraq. The long-term prospects, though, are dim. When you have not won the minds of the majority of the people but only the minds of their oppressive rulers, eventually you lose the game. I do not need to give you examples.
And in addition, Turkey should be able to benefit commercially from transshipping Iraqi oil to the Med.
There are many apples trees, which grow apples. Turkey is only one of the many pipeline options. Remember Rockefeller and the railroads game?
Quite true, and I would think Iraq would want competition among them. A pipeline thu Syria already exists, but for political reasons is shut down and may for those same reasons remain limited.A line thru Turkey would seem the shortest route to the Med, shorter than Syria. A line thru Jordan would benefit Israel, who would want to make it worthwhile. So the change in Iraq should benefit Turkey and Jordan/Israel, while putting a salutary crimp on Syria. The latter effect can't hurt Turkey too much . . .
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