THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 272, December 12, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TURKEY'S NO CASUAL DINING:
THE FORMIDABLE TASK FOR
OUR NEW AMBASSADOR
By Michael Rubin
THE CENTRAL PROBLEM IN RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY & THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: TURKISH PRIME
MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN'S DEMONSTRATED ANTIPATHY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, INCLUDING HIS
ACCELERATING ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW, JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE, TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT, PRIVATE
PROPERTY RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM & TOLERANCE, & THE DIVISION BETWEEN RELIGIOUS & SECULAR EDUCATION
FULL STORY:
On December 1, 2005, Ross L. Wilson was sworn in as Washington's newest Ambassador to Turkey. As a former ambassador
to Azerbaijan and career diplomat, Wilson is solid candidate for the new post. But his task is formidable. U.S.-Turkish relations
may be quiet, but they remain strained. While pundits often cite bilateral disagreements arising from the March 1, 2003, vote
against active Turkish participation in Iraq's liberation and Turks complain about Washington's subsequent inaction against
the PKK, U.S. concerns are deeper and center, not upon Iraq, but rather on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's accelerating
assault on rule of law, transparency, and secularism. Erdogan may be elected, but his actions demonstrate his antipathy for the
democratic process.
AN ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW
On June 20, 2005, Nuri Ok, Chief Prosecutor of Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals, challenged the Justice and Development
Party [AKP]'s bylaws which have enabled Erdogan to exert near dictatorial control over nominations for election candidates.
On November 30, after several months of AKP stonewalling and refusal to change the unconstitutional provisions, Ok
demanded a formal court censure of the ruling party.
Unfortunately, Erdogan's disdain for the independent judiciary has become the rule, rather than the exception. His
government has ignored several successive Supreme Court rulings in the Kent Bank case which declared illegal the
government's seizure and subsequent sale of a political opponent's assets. Frustrated with such court rulings against his
government, Erdogan has also moved to reduce the retirement age of judges so that he can replace 4,000 out of 9,000
professional civil servants with AKP party supporters.
While the Prime Minister once trumpeted his government's willingness to enter the European Union, he has since expressed
similar disdain for European courts. After the European Court of Human Rights, on November 10, upheld the headscarf ban
in Turkish universities, he declared, "It is wrong that those who have no connection to this field [of religion] make such a
decision ... without consulting Islamic scholars." His statements shocked multiple audiences. Not only did he give reason for
European politicians to question his commitment to the European Union accession process, but the suggestion that religious
law could trump state law rocked the Turkish establishment.
Erdogan has also launched an assault on the Turkish education system. Illegal Koran schools advertise openly in the Turkish
press. Turkish investigative reporters say these unregulated schools' curriculum seldom correlates to the traditional precepts
of Islam, but rather embraces the Saudi-funded incitement common in the madrasas of Pakistan. While Turkish society has
long respected religious education, Erdogan has unraveled the careful controls which long ensured that purveyors of religious
hatred did not brainwash young students.
As his frustration grows with constitutional constraints on his agenda, many Turks say that their Prime Minister's abuse of
power has worsened. On October 14, 2005, Turkish police arrested Professor Yjcel Askin, Rector of Yuzuncu Yil University in
the eastern Turkish city of Van. Askin is well-known in Turkish academic circles for both antagonism to the PKK and efforts to
emphasize the division between secular and religious education.
The stated reason for Askin's arrest was a question of a financial irregularity related to the purchase of medical equipment for
the university. But the arrest followed months of government harassment. The Turkish police had earlier raided his home to
seize illicit antiquities — only to find that he had permits for everything.
The government's subsequent decision to hold Askin and other university officers without bail was without precedent. Fifty
university presidents protested the government's actions. On November 13, another university officer committed suicide, after
languishing in prison for three months without a single court hearing, let alone a trial.
Erdogan's assault on Turkey's secular traditions has manifested itself in other ways. On October 9, the mainstream daily
Cumhuriyet reported that the Ministry of Health sent "registry information forms" to hospital personnel demanding to
know their religious sect. The classification scheme represents a dangerous erosion of the religious tolerance for which Turkey
has long been known. In response to the AKP's actions, the Turkish Physicians Union and the Istanbul Chamber of Physicians
issued a joint press statement declaring:
"They are recording the workers according to their religious beliefs and
sects. [This] defies all clear definitions of the constitution on freedom
of religion and conscience."
The concern is real. Erdogan's administration has systematically discriminated against Turkey's 15 million member Alevi
community. The Alevis are a Sufi-influenced Islamic sect and, like the mainstream of Turkish society, have a tradition of
tolerance far broader than the teachings espoused by the AKP's leadership. Despite the AKP's claims to represent Turkish
society, the establishment daily Milliyet reported that the party's parliamentary delegation and leadership did not include
a single Alevi.
Ordinary Turks — at least those living outside Istanbul — are feeling the heat. The government has not only moved to increase
taxes on beer, but AKP-controlled municipalities have also moved to ban alcohol altogether. On November 23, opposition
Republican People's Party [CHP] Deputy Leader Kemal Anadol said, "If you separate the areas where alcoholic beverages are
sold ... what you want is Tehran, not Luxembourg."
WILL WASHINGTON LET TURKEY SLIP AWAY?
It is this atmosphere of challenges to the rule of law that will confront Ambassador Wilson upon his arrival in Turkey. His task
will be great. Tensions between Washington and Ankara have hurt both U.S. and Turkish interests. While Turkish
anti-Americanism has grown rife, positive U.S. attitudes toward Turks and Turkish culture has remained constant. But indicators
now suggest that this embrace may be weakening. Turkey was alone among regional countries in witnessing a decline in the
number of U.S. students it hosted.
The longterm strategic partnership between Turkey and the U.S.A. may never fully recover. U.S. strategic planners are
increasingly looking to Romania and Georgia to compensate for dwindling confidence in Turkey's commitment to security and
the rule of law. Meanwhile, the poor personal relationship between Erdogan and President George W. Bush undermines
anti-PKK cooperation.
While it is in the interest of both countries to repair their relationship, Washington should not sacrifice commitment to rule of
law. Nor should platitudes substitute for tough dialogue. Too many past and present U.S. officials, either out of misplaced
etiquette or personal business interests, have downplayed concerns about the AKP. During a recent trip to Turkey, for example,
one former Clinton administration ambassador told AKP officials and an Islamic business association that Washington was not
concerned about the influx of Islamist capital in Turkey. While he was speaking in his own private capacity, some Turkish
officials wrongly assumed White House sanction for his statements.
The Bush administration has not helped the situation. On November 9, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said, "It seems
to me that the development of the AKP into a democratic party of Center-Right orientation has mirrored and supported the
development of Turkish political society as a whole in a liberal and democratic direction." Many Turks interpreted his statement
as a partisan endorsement of the AKP at a time when opposition parties are gaining ground.
While Turkish society is engaged in an increasingly urgent struggle to preserve the rule of law against abuse of power,
diplomatic platitudes can harm. The center of Washington's policy toward Turkey should be support for its Constitution,
judiciary and the rule of law, no matter how chilly it may make Wilson's lunches with the Prime Minister.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Turkey, the Middle East, & the U.S.A.
Middle East: Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is Editor of the Middle East Quarterly.
The foregoing article by Michael Rubin was originally published in National Review Online, December 12, 2005, and
can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
December 12, 2005
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