OT: Events in Turkey

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

A while back we had a thread on Islamism, etc. Not gonna try to kick

it off again but I want to make a point to show how serious the Moslem

(not Islamic) Republic of Turkey views this subject.

 

Though the Turkish military (like the American military) is ruled by

elected civilian authority, the Turkish Military has a Constitutional

right (as a branch of the government) to voice opinions on political

matters .. and to take action if it becomes clear that action is

needed to save the country from Islamic takeover.

 

Those who understand multi-party Parliamentary systems know that a

party can be #1 in the elections but not have more than 35% or less of

the vote. And though that party must form a partnership (coalition)

with others in order to stay # 1, they get to name the Prime Minister,

who is almost always their Party Leader. This was the situation here

when the present " moderate Islamic " party came into power. The Prime

Minister is Tayyip Erdogan .. leader of the " moderate Islamic " party.

 

The President is a different feller .. current president is a retired

Supreme Court Justice .. a wise man who is well-liked and is deeply

and sincerely concerned for his country .. but his term of office

expires soon, and the Prime Minister (leader of the " moderate Islamic "

party) wants to become President.

 

General Yasar Buyukanit, Chief of the General Staff (top military

man), is a fine man and like the president, he is concerned for his

country. Interesting are his comments below .. regarding who will or

will not become the next president.

 

For most Westerners, the fact that the military can play a role in the

political arena is shocking .. but the military in Turkey has a unique

position .. it has been so since the Republic was formed .. loyalty of

most people here is to the military .. not to the politicians.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch

 

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Turkish Forces Battle Kurdish Rebels

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/12/turkey.offensive/index.html

 

POSTED: 1649 GMT (0049 HKT), April 12, 2007

 

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkish armed forces have begun a spring

offensive against rebels with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) ahead

of an expected surge in militant activity, the head of Turkey's

military said Thursday.

 

In a rare news conference, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said operations were

already under way at several locations in the country and that in

April alone at least 10 Turkish soldiers had been killed in the fighting.

 

Buyukanit said the military had information that the PKK would expand

its terror activities in May as the weather warmed up.

 

The general also said he believed the Turkish military ought to expand

its operations into northern Iraq, where the PKK conducts training and

gets logistical support.

 

But he said that decision had to be made in parliament, adding that

the military had not asked the government to approve such an operation.

 

The Turkish government has been fighting the Kurdish separatist group

since the early 1980s at the cost of more than 30,000 lives. The PKK

wants an independent nation for its people. The European Union and the

U.S. consider the PKK a terrorist group.

 

Meanwhile, Buyukanit also shared his thoughts on the coming

presidential elections and the possibility that Prime Minister Recep

Tayyip Erdogan -- the only candidate so far -- may take the presidency.

 

The general said that only someone who genuinely believed in the

secularism of the republic -- and not someone who only voiced those

sentiments -- would become the next president.

 

Turks who fear Islamist rule are organizing a march Sunday in Ankara.

Erdogan's government has responded by changing train schedules to try

to impede protesters coming into the capital from cities across the

country.

 

The president of Turkey's parliament warned those who planned to join

the march to be careful.

 

-- CNN's Talia Kayali contributed to this report.

[Guest guest]

Butch,

 

I love the inside scoop on things Turkish!

A different and fascinating place.

 

The multi-party system has good sides and bad ones,

like everything else.

It does encourage the seeking of consensus, which

is good. And it can lead to distorted results.

I still follow Dutch politics occasionally. There have

been occasions when the government that was formed

after much wrangling clearly did not reflect the

trend set by the election. But that was the only patchwork

possible, for whatever reason.

 

The 2 party system encourages either/or thinking

and polarization, both tendencies which I abhor.

 

WHY do we find it so hard to graciously yield a point

to an ideological opponent?

Why can't we just say " I may not agree with your whole

platform, but you have some valid observations there. " ?

 

Ien in the Kootenays

http://freegreenliving.com