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Turkey: No Longer the sick man of Europe

Chaklader Mahboob-ul Alam
**When the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923, some European politicians used to describe it as the sick man of Europe. No wonder, today many Turks feel great pride in describing their country as "the only healthy man" of Europe.**
TURKEY is so much in the news these days in Spain — partly because of the special relationship between Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero and Prime Minister Recep Erdogan of Turkey as co sponsors of the alliance of civilisations initiative (as opposed to Huntington's clash of civilisations theory) — that I have been meaning to write a column on this great country for some time, and I am glad that finally I have got around to it.
There are many reasons why Turkey is in the limelight — its rising status as a regional power in a strategically important part of the world, its role in defending the Palestinian cause, its growing economic clout and of course, its recent referendum.
Let me start with the referendum, which will certainly be remembered as a landmark event in the history of modern Hirkey. Although ostensibly the referendum was about certain constitutional changes, the real issue was
something much more fundamental to Dirkey's identity and future.
Whether the Turks wanted a real democracy in which the will of the people would be paramount, ora kind of guided democracy in which the military and their allies in the judicial establishment would control the destiny of the nation, was at the heart of the referendum.
The current constitution was imposed by the military after a coup in 1980. The military has always considered itself as the self-appointed guardian of Hirkish democracy and Kemalist secularism. It is worth remembering here that during the last fifty years, there have been three military coups with the consequent loss of life and liberty.
It is good news for Turkey that M. Erdogan won the referendum by a huge majority. Besides limiting the influence of the military in politics, parliament will now be able to end the unholy alliance between the judiciary and the military by overhauling the judiciary.
Under the 1980 constitution, the military
courts could try the civilians. Now, the military courts will lose this right. What is even more important is that military officers will lose their immunity. From now on, civilian courts will have the power to try military officers plotting coups.
In an effort to advance individual rights, for the first time in Turkish democracy, individuals will have the right to file cases in the Constitutional Court. In order to remedy the discrimination suffered by the women for decades, affirmative action programmes will be introduced.
Until now senior judges of the judicial establishment have, with the connivance of the military, interfered in the running of a free and open democratic system by arbitrarily banning political parties. (Mr. Erdogan's own party, which has just won the referendum by a huge majority, was about to be banned in 2008 on flimsy allegations of being an Islamist party.)
Now Parliament will participate in appointing members of the Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges. In order to end the monopoly of power in the hands of the so-called Kemalist judges in the Constitutional Court, the president and Parliament of the country will have the powers to expand the membership of this court. (In Spain, the senate, at the recommendation of the political parties, appoints Constitutional Court judges.)
Now party closures will have to be approved by Parliament. I hope that, while banning political parties or individual candidates, the judges and Parliament members will make a distinction between one's religion and one's political ideology. A Muslim is someone who practises Islam as his religion and he should be free to do so. An Islamist politician is someone who is committed to putting Islam into politics, and that is what goes against secularism. The so-called Kemalist secularists and the CHP (the opposition party) would do well to take note of this difference.
In this context, the Kemalists should also remember that if their objective is to have a real democracy in Turkey, it is fundamental that they respect the rights of the Kurdish minority within the Turkish Republic. Banning Kurdish political parties will not resolve the problem. No democracy is worth its salt unless it protects its minorities. In Spain, the king and the government have achieved significant success in lowering the tensions related to minority problems by following the principle, "unidad entre la diversidad”Le., unity among diversity.
General elections are due to be held next year. If Erdogan's party wins the elections, it is expected that the 1980 constitution will be
rewritten completely. I hope that proper checks and balances will be introduced in this constitution by the experts so that power is not concentrated in any one branch of the government.
It is interesting to note that the European Commission has expressed its satisfaction about the results of the referendum. Does this mean that the European Union will soon accept Hirkey as a member? I am afraid, the answer is no.
Dirkey's journey towards EU membership has been a very slow, painful and frustrating one. It started in 1959, when Turkey submitted its application to sign the European association agreement as the first step to become a member. Four years later, in 1963, it signed that agreement with the European Community, which at that time had only six original members. Since then the European Union has gone on expanding to have 27 members today. Countries like Malta, Cyprus (only the Greek part), Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are full members of the EU. Yet, Hirkey has been kept at bay.
Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has made sweeping legal reforms and enormous progress in the fields of human rights, women's rights and freedom of expression to bring them in line with EU standards. But given the current economic situation and the growing phobia about Islam in Europe — which has, no doubt, been whipped up by the extremists — it is highly unlikely that the EU will accept Hirkey as a member in the near future.
After over 50 years of rejection by the EU, Hirkey has now turned eastwards. It has forged close commercial and cultural relationships with Syria, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. This revised foreign policy has converted Turkey into a major regional power.
Dirkey's economy is growing at a significant rate. Industry is booming and foreign investments are still pouring in. Hade with the neighbouring countries is expanding. By European standards, unemployment situation is acceptable. In the international debt market, Hirkish government bonds are getting the highest ratings. It proves that Turkey’s economic fundamentals are strong and reliable.
When the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923, some European politicians used to describe it as the sick man of Europe. No wonder, today many Turks feel great pride in describing their country as "the only healthy man" of Europe.
Chaklader Mahboob-ul Alam is a columnist for the Daily Star.