7 Haziran 2019 Cuma

TO THE BALLOTS YET AGAIN


ENGLISH

Whatever the agressive languages of the government and the opposition may lead us to believe, the tension between the different social groups has been much reduced over then last few years. The rivalry between the erstwhile partners, Gülen and Erdoğan, and the consolidation of power by the latter, really seems to have brought a reduction of excesses of the AKP regime. While it is true that the big wheels of Gülen’s power apparatus in Turkey (like ex-Vice-President Bülent Arınç, ex-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and ex- President Abdullah Gül) have never been affected by the roundup of adherents of the Gülen cult, it really seems the reduction of Gülen’s influence and the purging of cult members and adherents from the Turkish system has brought a positive change.

On the negative side, Erdoğan’s consolidation of power involved a regime change that bodes ill for the future- a so-called “Presidential System” that is tailor-made to keep Erdoğan in power for as long as possible, with little concern for legitimate, democratic succession!

The inherent weakness of the new system became perfectly evident in the last municipal elections. The President openly sided with and campaigned for the AKP candidate Binali Yıldırım. (Indeed, under the new system, the President remains the head of the party!)

AKP remained the top vote-puller but lost the office of mayor in every major city- most painfully in capital Ankara and mega-metropolis Istanbul! (Erdoğan’s meteoric rise to power had come after a stint as the mayor of Istanbul, during which time he had been hosted in the White House by none other than George Bush Jr.) 

Days, even weeks after Ekrem Imamoğlu's won the office of mayor, President Erdoğan and protege Binali Yıldırım were thanking the public for their election victory.
(Image from my own camera.)

The AKP, backed by President Erdoğan himself, demanded- and got- recounts in many areas, The results hardly changed. Reluctantly giving up on Ankara, the AKP insisted on nothing less than renewed elections in Istanbul. The victorious rival, CHP’s Ekrem İmamoğlu, can enjoy his shaky seat until June 23rd, when the citizens of Istanbul are once more called to the ballot box.

Sibling rivalry: little Binali Yıldırım and Ekrem İmamoğlu bickering over the city of Istanbul (both yelling "MIIINE!") while President Erdoğan (a.k.a. "The Long Man") orders İmamoğlu to hand over the toys.
("Give them to yor brother, Ekrem!")
The AKP’s staggering record of election victories since 2002 have always had a shadowy side, with continous allegations of foul play. In the early days, the party had the clear backing of the US, and it is not hard to imagine some US know-how at work in boosting the party’s rapid rise to power just months after its founding. A mysterious power cut in the Adana area during the local elections of March 30th 2014 were attributed by authorities to a cat slipping into a power station, and the interfering cat became a running joke afterwards. Unused ballot slips have routinely been found lying around after elections, inviting speculations as to their purpose.

The April 16th 2017 referendum for constitutional change, introducing a “Presidential System” that would give President Erdoğan unprecedented powers, was preceded by a blatantly unfair period of propaganda: Erdoğan’s AKP used all the means of the state to sell the concept, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım enthusiastically endorsed the change that would permanently anull his office, and supposed “opposition” MHP under the grotesquely unprincipled Devlet Bahçeli backed Erdoğan’s cause. Those opposed to the regime change were left with limited means to challenge the Erdoğan-AKP (plus MHP) power apparatus.

On voting day the internet immediately filled up with visual records of cheating- some so brazen the culprits didn’t even hide it before the camera, some so shameless, they shot selfies doing it. The "High Election Board" (Yüksek Seçim Kurulu) abruptly decided to accept unstamped envelopes, though the Board’s own regulations would have rendered them invalid, and reportedly, some 2,5 million were accepted. The controversial “Presidential System” passed by the narrowest of margins- %51.4 “for”  versus %48.6 "against”. Crowds began to assemble before the Election Board to protest but their respective parties discouraged an escalation of the tense situation. (See: “Vox Populi?”, 12 June-Haziran 2017)

Planted before our TV sets on the night of the recent Municipal Elections (March 31st, 2019), we were all watching the AKP lead as expected when CHP candidate Ekram İmamoğlu interrupted the broadcast to announce that the official tally of the state-run Anatolian Agency conflicted with the CHP’s own bookkeeping. After some hesitation the Election Board had to concede. There can be little doubt that AKP candidate  Binali Yıldırım would have easily been lifted to victory if not for the meticulous attention of CHP’s team of observers. The incident was foreshadowed in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary election of June 24th, 2018: during a broadcast on a pro-government channel, the results of the upcoming general elections were accidentally flashed on the screen- four days before anyone went to the ballot box! See: https://odatv.com/vid_video.php?id=8F8GD

I have no reason to have confidence in the AKP. But that doesn’t mean I have much confidence in the CHP either. The AKP’s basic arguments against the CHP, that the party is ready to to make deals with Kurdish seperatists, that it is endorsing the HDP, that it is arguing for the legitimacy of the PYD though it is blatantly the Syrian version of the PKK, are all essentialy true. Never mind that the AKP has been guilty of all the same before the breakup with Gülen- these are all in line with US wishes; the AKP was created specifically to satisfy those wishes and the CHP is obviously courting US support by signaling it is ready to do the same.

The CHP’s call for “justice”, though legitimate enough, also includes Gülen’s
CHP's İmamoğlu calling the AKP's bluff and
running for mayor yet again. His slogan, "everything
will be very beautiful", unfortunately recall
President Abdullah Gül's 2014 statement "Beautiful
things will happen." Gül is known for his closenesse
to Gülen's "Community".
(Image from my own camera.)

operatives who are now paying for the part they played in the Ergenekon and Balyoz (“Sledgehammer”) show trials and the widespread, underhanded program to dismantle the secular, nationalist Turkish Republic.

The only plausible alternative to the rivalry between the AKP (and partners) vs. the CHP (and partners) is Doğu Perinçek’s Vatan party. Once known as the Labor or more literally Worker’s Party, it changed its name in 2015 in a hope to attract voters spooked by its too “communist” image. The party has its own newspaper (Aydınlık), its own TV and radio channels (Ulusal), so manages to survive. Vatan speaks for an uncompromising national stance, at odds with US interests; indeed several party officials, including leader Perinçek himself, have been jailed by the Ergenekon judges with very long sentences, regaining freedom only after the breakup of the Erdoğan-Gülen alliance. (See: "Melting the Mountain of Iron", 4 November-Kasım 2014.) Perinçek’s defence during the Ergenekon trials has become a classic; he would have been serving life had the Erdoğan- Gülen alliance gone on.

The solution to the Vatan nuisance has been to ignore it; the mainstream media act as if it doesn’t exist, not having a single member in parliament makes the party ineligible for state aid so it must always turn to its supporters, so the party never scrapes more than %1, %1.5. It must be said that Vatan often acts as its own worst enemy by acting as an apologist for all the excesses of China, North Korea, and Russia- including the Soviet era!

Though ignored by the media, Erdoğan and his advisors seem to heed Vatan’s views and opinions, and when they do, Vatan supports their decisions, which lead to the spreading accusation that Perinçek has become pro-Erdoğan.

Vatan's Ilker Yücel (left) still insists on his candidacy, here
endorsed by party leader Doğu Perinçek.
(Image from the media.)
Though other contenders have pulled out to leave the AKP and CHP fight it out for Istanbul, Vatan has decided to run again in the re-vote of the Istanbul Municipal Elections. A fourth bidder, also ignored totally by the media, is the Saadet party candidate Necdet Gökçınar, condemned in advance to be an also-ran.

Of course, none of this should have anything to do with municipal elections, which should be about how our towns and cities are run. But that wouldn’t be Democracy alla Turca, would it? Everything has to be turned into a matter of life and death!

The elections are scheduled for the 23rd. With such a buildup, who knows to what kind of a day will we awake on the 24th? There are rumors that the US is hoping for widespread protests in case of an AKP victory, riots and revolution even, and if all else fails even a chance to interfere! With its involvement in Syria, Eastern Mediterranean, slavish support of Israel, meddling in Ukraine, a wary eye on Russia, and buildup for an armed conflict with Iran, the US won’t just let Turkey choose its own path- not any more than it is willing to allow Venezuela! My hope is that the Turkish people are no longer inclined to go at each others' throats to satisfy the ambitions of politicians.

It seems Perinçek is right: when it comes down to it, this isn’t a matter of CHP vs AKP, or the Seculars vs Erdoğan, but the Nation vs the US!

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