2020- KIŞKIRTMASIZ

TÜRKÇE: (For English see "2020- Unprovoked")

Yıllar ilerledikçe bölgemizde yaşanılan rahatsızlıkların arkasında küresel menfaat odakları olduğu, bunların merkezinde ise ABD, onun yörüngesinde dönen güçlü batı devletleri, perde arkasında da çokuluslu şirketler, finans

Özgür Suriye Ordusu Halep'te hükümet yanlısı bir
militanı idama götürüyor, 2012 Ağustos başı. O
zamandan beri Özgür Suriye Ordusu müttefikimiz
oldu; bugün "Suriye Milli Ordusu" diyoruz,
kavramlar karışsın diye.
(Görüntü medyadan.)

merkezleri ve İsrail olduğu fikri ülkemizde geniş çapta kabul görmüştür. Karşı tarafta ise abluka altındaki Şam hükümetine silahlı destek veren Rusya var. Bölgenin lâneti olan farklılıklar, hassasiyetler, zaaflar ve önyargılar sistematik bir şekilde kaşınmakta, çatışmalar alevlendirilmekte, bundan da hep perde arkasındaki üst akıllar faydalanmaktadırlar- görünüşte olaylarla alâkasız, eller temiz.

ABD'nin Suriye'de varlığının bahanesi canavar terör örgütü İŞİD, ama onun bile bir ABD/ İsrail projesi olduğu da

İdlib savaşın kucağında. Mülteciler Türkiye'ye
(Görüntü medyadan.)

ülkemizde çok kabul görmüş bir değerlendirme; bölgenin en iflah olmaz, en fanatik unsurlarından biraraya getirilmiş bir sadistler sürüsü. Sözde varlık savaşı veren bu "İslâm devleti", uluslararası alanda tanınmak için hiçbir teşebbüse geçmiyor. (Bkz.: "İşid ya da Daeş", 2 Şubat 2016.) İşid'in yayınladığı ve çok yankı yapan idam videoları yapmacıklıkları ve acemilikleriye hiç de ikna edici değildi. Sözde idamdan önce sahne kararıyor zaten. Tabii iş batılı kurbanlarla ilgili olduğunda bu böyle. (ABD vatandaşıJames Foley ve David Sotloff ile İngiliz David Haines.) Ürdünlü pilotu yaktıklarını düpedüz göstermişler oysa. Bundan 8 Ocak 2015 tarihli "Next Year has to be Better" (Türkçesi yok) başlıklı yazımda bahsettim ama orada verdiğim link artık işlemiyor.

Fakat mesele Suriye ile kalmıyor- casus Lawrence'den beri Ortadoğu'nun hikâyesi bu! Şimdi geriye dönüp made in ABD, RAND Corporation ürünü Erdoğan-Gülen ittifakının bize yaşattığı Ergenekon ve Balyoz kâbusunu hatırladıkça ABD'nin ne kadar güvenilmez, arkadan vuran bir müttefik olduğunu unutmamız mümkün değil. Bugün Türkiye'de Putin'in çok takdir edilen bir lider olması hiç şaşırtıcı değil, Erdoğan'ın Rusya'ya yaklaşması ve ABD'yı darıltmak pahasına Rus füzeleri satın alması da geniş çapta kabul gördü. Yalnız şunu unutmamalı ki Rusya da bütün devletler gibi kendi menfaatlerini ön planda tutar; yakınlaşmayı enayilik noktasına getirmemek gerekir, NATO müttefiklerimizle yaptığımız hataya döneriz yoksa.


Ülkemiz dahil yaşadığımız coğrafyanın vekâlet savaşlarına bir arena hâline geldiğini hepimiz anladık, ama kaçımız provokasyonlardan etkilenmeyecek kadar bilinçli ve soğukkanlı olabiliyoruz? Dolduruşa gelince duygularımıza, hiddetimize yeniliveriyoruz. Gülen'le yolunu ayırdığından beri Erdoğan köktendinci, Osmanlıcı, Cumhuriyet karşıtı söylemlerini hafifleterek ve vatanperver, milliyetçi, hatta Atatürkçü bir görünüm da sergileyerek yurtsever ve lâik çevrelerin korkularını yatıştırdı. Fakat başta Erdoğan ve muhalefet lideri Kılıçdaroğlu olmak üzere siyasilerin mahalle ağzıyla atışmaları siyasi prim için halkı birbirine karşı tetikleyen tehlikeli bir oyun. Basın da sürtüşmeleri sorumsuzca dev aynasında büyütüyor.


Bölge barut fıçısı, ya da infilak halinde. Suriye iç savaşı devam ediyor, mülteciler Türk hududuna kaçışıyor. Lübnan

Irak, Kasım 2019.
(Görütü medyadan.)

ve Irak kaynıyor, Gürcistan ve İran'da da çalkantılar var.

Erdoğan ABD'ye diklenmeye başladığından beri ABD ve küresel menfaatler Türkiye'yi sıkıştırmaya çalışmakta ve ekonomimizi zorlamakta. Bütün bu şartlarda, bu gergin ortamda ülkemiz şaşırtıcı derecede sakin.

Türkiye'de toplumun fay hatları 2013'te Gezi olaylarıyla kırıldı ve halâ Gülen'le ortak olan, ABD'ye hizmet eden AKP'yi ve Erdoğan'ı ciddi şekilde salladı. Mayıs 2013'te Erdoğan Beyaz Saray'da onur konuğuydu, Gezi olayları birkaç gün sonra patlak verdi. (O senenin olaylarını 27 Aralık 2013 tarihli "Gezi Yılını Kapartırken" başlıklı yazımda özetledim.) ABD'nin Türkiye'yi dönüştürme, lâik cumhuriyeti tasfiye ederek uysal

Erdoğan ve Gülen, geçmiş zaman olur ki...
(Görüntü medyadan.)

bir din devleti haline getirip ABD'de oturan bir imamın aracılıyla yönetme operasyonu tehlikeye girmişti. Erdoğan ile Obama'nın aralarına soğukluk girdi. ABD/ Gülen etkisinin Türkiye'deki son büyük zaferi 5 Ağustos 2013'te verilen Ergenekon hükümleri oldu; Türkiye'nin aydınları, Atatürk'ün lâik cumhuriyetinin bekçileri uzun ve ağır hükümler giydi. (30 Ağustos 2013 tarihli "Ergenekon Trials and Tribulations" başlıklı yazım, Türkçesi yok.)

2013 sonbaharında Gezi direnişini canlandırmak için bir teşebbüs oldu, ama artık muhalefet CHP oyuna girmiş, Kürt bağımsızlığı davasını Gezi'ye bağlamaya çalışıyordu- bu da Gezi direnişini başlatıp yürüten halkın beklentilerini aksetmiyordu. (Buna 23 Eylül 2013 tarihli "Turkish Protest Rocks" başlıklı yazıda değindim, ama derinlemesine girmedim. Türkçesi yok.) ABD daima bağımsız bir Kürt devleti istemiştir, ve AKP'nin en önemli misyonlarından biri bunu

Kürt şarkıcı Şivan Perver ve Irak Kürt Yönetimi başkanı
Mesut Barzani, ikisi de paramiliter kıyafetli, Başbakan
Erdoğan ile Kasım 2013'te Diyarbakır'da.
(Görüntü medyadan.)

gerçekleştirmekti. Gerçekten de "açılım süreci" ile AKP bu yolda çok çaba harcadı, bunu yaparken batıdan alkış alırken ülke içinde destek kaybetti. Nihayet halkın nefret ettiği PKK ile görüşmeleri dondurdu. AKP'nin boşalttığı yeri CHP tereddütsüz aldı.

Müteakip aylarda Erdoğan Gülen'le yollarını sert bir şekilde ayırdı, Beyaz Saray da buna paralel olrak Erdoğan'dan uzaklaştı. Kılıçdaroğlu'nun CHP'si Türkiye'de iktidar yarışında destek karşılığında ABD'nin isteklerini yerine getirebileceği sinyalleri vermeye başladı.

Erdoğan'ın AKP'si eski günahlarına mesafe koymaya başladı, bazen inkâr etti, bazen özür dilemeye varan ifadeler kullandı. (Bkz.: "Hatasız Kul Olmaz", 12 Şubat 2014). Toplum

Operasyonlardan sonra Diyarbakır Sur, 2017.
(Görüntü medyadan.)

içinde gerginlikler azaldı, büyük gibi gözüken meseleler (başörtüsü gibi) önemsizleşti. Kürt bağımsızlığı davası ise halkın büyük çoğunluğunun benimsemediği bir meseleydi. "Açılımcı" Erdoğan üç sene sonra, 2017'de PKK'ya karşı operasyonlara başladığında itiraz eden pek olmadı. (Edenler de daha ziyade CHP'dendi.)

Genelde halkımız PKK'yı Kürt vatandaşlarından ayrı tutar, birbirleriyle karıştırmaz- bu batılı dostlarımızın göstermediği bir incelik. Toplumumuzda genelde Kürtler dışlanmaz, karşılıklı evlenmeler de olağandır. Provokasyon olmadıkça huzurlu bir beraberlik mümkün. Ama 2014'e dönelim.

Çok geçmeden Ergenekon ve Balyoz kumpas kurbanları özgürlüklerine kavuştu, bu sefer yargıya, polise, orduya sızan, basına çöreklenen Fetöcüler takibata uğramaya başladılar. Kimi kendilerini hapiste buldu, kimi kaçtı. Orduda kalanlar 15 Temmuz 2014'de bir darbeye teşebbüs ettiler. Erdoğan'ın destekçileri sokaklara döküldü, ama sadece onlar değildi sokaklara dökülen. Halk darbeye karşı durdu ve silahlı kuvvetler içinde Gülen cemaatine mensup olmayan askerler darbe teşebbüsünü sona erdirdi. O gece çok kan döküldü

15 Temmuz 2019- kanlı darbe gecesi.
(Görüntü medyadan.)

(240 üzerinde can kaybı) ama toplum içinde kalıcı bir yara açmadı- bütün partiler ve medya Gülen'i ve ABD'yi suçlamakta birleşti. Gerçi CHP destekçileri arasında darbeyi Erdoğan'ın kendi tezgâhladığı, bunu daha sıkı ve otoriter bir yönetim için bahane olarak kullanmak istediği yolunda bir rivayet dolaştı ama pek inandırıcı değildi. Neticede ABD yine yanlış hesap yapmıştı. Gezi direnişinden beri çok şey değişmişti. Görüş ayrılıkları bitmedi gerçi, bitmemesi de gerekir, ama Türk toplumu uzlaşma yoluna girmişti artık.

Düşmanlarımızın en çok istediği şey, birbirimizle düşmemiz- o zaman bizimle istedikleri gibi oynayabilirler. Sağ-sol çatışmasını hatırlayın, sonra dinci-lâik, cumhuriyetci-Osmanlıcı, Alevi-Sünni..! Ve bir milletin aslında bir aile olduğunu hatırlayın- hiçbir aile ferdi bir diğerine benzemez ama birlik ve dayanışma vardır. Yaşadığımız coğrafya da mahallemizdir, komşunun evindeki huzursuzluk bize de zarar verir. 

Kışkırtma olacaktır. Her zaman olmuştur. Önemli olan dolduruşa gelmemektir.

Büyük bir insan vaktiyle "yurtta sulh cihanda sulh" demişti.

Bunun için yüreklerimizde de sulh olması gerekir!

Hepimize mutlu yıllar!

Bu seneki yeni yıl mesajımız.

2020- UNPROVOKED

ENGLISH: (Türkçe için bkz. "2020- Kışkırtmasız")


As the years go by, more and more of our people have come to regard it as a given that a globalist power base is and has been the source of the region's woes- and the US is at the center of this power base, the Western Powers pretty much

Free Syrian Army militia leading pro-government militant
to execution in Aleppo, early August 2012.
Since then the Free Syrian Army has become our ally in Syria.
Today we call them the "Syrian National Army",
apparently to confuse the issue.
(Image from the media.)

the sattelites, with multi-national corporations, financial players, and Israel playing the eminences grises. Russia, on the other hand, gives armed military support to the beleaguered Damascus regime. The differences, sensitivities, weaknesses, biases and prejudices that plague the region have systematically been provoked and the conflicts escalated, always to the profit of the masterminds who lurk backstage, keeping an appearance of clean hands and distance. 

The terrifying ISIS, sometimes called ISIL, is the pretext for US involvement in Syria, but it is practically taken for granted here in our country that it is no more than a US/ Israeli operation; a band of sadists cobbled together from the the worst and most fanatical elements the geography has to offer. The "Islamic State" stands alone in the history of armed conflict as a would-be state conducting warfare without ever seeking recognition. ( See: "About 'ISIS' or 'ISIL' or 'DAESH'", 2 Şubat-February 2016.) The much-publicized execution videoclips released by the group look embarrasingly amateurish as long as the purported victims are westerners (US citizens James Foley and David Sotloff and Briton David Haines), with a fade-out before the actual act. (I mentioned this in my article "Next Year Has To Be Better", 8 January-Ocak 2015 but the video link to the alleged execution no longer works.) The Jordanian pilot burned to death was visibly real, however!

DAESH, a.k.a. ISIS or ISIL, the excuse for US presence in Syria!
(Image from the media.)

(Why is it called "ISIS" or "ISIL" anyway? They're acronyms of English words, "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria", and "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" respectively, whereas the Arabic equivalent "Daesh" is easy and snappy enough for English speakers. Is it because the English names were hatched first?)

War has raged on sovereign Syrian soil for years, and everybody and his brother have their fingers in the pie. Our country has been involved first in one way, then another over

Embattled Idlib. The refugees head for Turkey.
(Image from the media.)

the years. But most of all, it has been a war waged by small players, paramilitary groups with different acronyms, willingly or, as more often the case, unwittingly serving the interests of masterminds, puppetmasters who keep in the shadows, off the stage, in the wings, never getting their hands dirty: US, Western powers, gobal interests, major corporations, Israel, or all of the above. 

But this is not only Syria- it has been the story of the Middle East since Lawrence of Arabia. Now with the hindsight of the nightmare days of the US-backed, RAND Corporation concocted Erdoğan-Gülen alliance and the Ergenekon and "Sledgehammer" frame-ups, NATO ally US is a proven back-stabber not to be trusted. No wonder there is such a rising admiration in Turkey for Putin, and widespread support for Erdoğan moving closer to Russia and opting for Russian missiles, braving US discontent. We only need to keep in mind that Russia, like any state, will act in its own interests and there is no need to push rapprochement to gullibility- as we once did with our NATO allies.

We have all come to understand that our region, including our country, has become an arena for proxy wars, but we are still not wise and cool-headed enough to resist provokation, letting our tempers and our emotions get the better of us when goaded. Since parting ways with Gülen, President Erdoğan has toned down his fundamentalist, pro-Ottoman, anti-republican rethoric and taken a patriotic, nationalist, at times even Kemalist stance that has done much to soothe nationalist and secular anxieties, and reduce friction. But the bickering of politicians, particularly President Erdoğan vs. opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu, often using abusive language, is a dangerous game of amassing political points by triggering fellow citizens against each other. And the press only magnifies the differences, irresponsibly adding stress to the fault lines.

The geography is explosive; the Syrian civil war is raging on, with refugees streaming to the Turkish frontier once again. There are upheavals in Lebanon and Iraq, and unrest in Iran

Iraq, November 2019.
(Image from the media.)

and Georgia. With Erdoğan no longer the willing tool, the US/Globalist interests are applying pressure on Turkey in various ways, squeezing the economy. Turkey, however, is surprisingly calm, considering the circumstances.

The stress in Turkey peaked in 2013, when the Gezi uprising shook Erdoğan's AKP government, then still very much Gülen's partner and a tool of the US. Erdoğan was an honored guest in the White House in May 2013, the riots

The Gezi uprising of June 2013.
(Image from the media.)

broke out just days later! (I encapsulated the year and the Gezi riots in my article "Closing the Gezi Year", 27 December-Aralık 2013.) The US operation to transform secular and nationalist Turkey into an obedient theocracy led by America through a US resident imam (Gülen) was thrown into jeopardy. Coldness started to creep in between Erdoğan and Obama. The last hurrah of the US/ Gülen influence was the Ergenekon verdicts of August 5th, 2013  when Gülen's

Erdoğan and Gülen, way back when...
(Image from the media.)

judges, infiltrated through AKP's collusion over the years, passed out heavy verdicts to the cream of secular, Kemalist intelligentsia, the guardians of the Republic (See: "Ergenekon Trials and Tribulations", 30 August-Ağustos 2013). 

There was an effort to revive the Gezi movement in the Fall of 2013, but by then the opposition CHP had jockeyed in and launched an attempt to hijack the movement for the Kurdish seperatist cause- which did not gel with the public. (I notice this without dwelling on it in "Turkish Protest Rocks", 20 September- Eylül 2013). A seperate Kurdish state was ever

Kurdish singer Shiwan Parwar and Masoud Barzani,
leader of the Kurdish Autonomus Region in Iraq, both in
paramilitary attire, with Prime Minister Erdoğan
in Diyarbakır, November 2013.
(Image from the media.)

endorsed by the US, and was one of the most important missions of the AKP. Indeed, Erdoğan's AKP did much to bring it about, was applauded by the West for it, but lost much support at home, eventually freezing the talks it was

conducting with the hated PKK. The opposition CHP proved more than willing to take up the slack. 

In the ensuing months, Erdoğan broke off with Gülen

radically while the White House further distanced itself from Erdoğan. It certainly started to look like Kılıçdaroğlu's CHP was setting itself up to be the new tool of US interests in return for backing at home.

Erdoğan's AKP distanced itself from its previous sins, sometimes through denial, sometimes actual apology (See:

"To Err is Human", 26 January-Ocak 2014). Tensions started

Diyarbakır Sur district in 2017 after the crackdown.
(Image from the media.)

to ease, big issues (like the head-scarf) started to fade into insignificance. The Kurdish separatist cause left the general public cold. When the  new Erdoğan cracked down on the PKK in 2017, three years down the line, few voices (and those mostly CHP) had anything to say against it.

By and large, the public has made a clear distinction between ethnic Kurds and PKK's militants- a distinction the West does not make! So while Kurdish seperatism is not eyed with sympathy, Kurds as an ethnic group are not generally ostracized, and intermarriages are common. So there is a potential for harmony if not provoked. But back to 2014.

Before long, the victims of the Ergenekon and "Sledgehammer" prosecutions were free, and the Gülenist moles in the police, army, judiciary, and the press found themselves targeted instead. Many found themselves behind bars, others went on the run. The ones planted in the military attempted a coup on July 15th 2016; Erdoğan's supporters, but not only Erdoğan's supporters, poured out and did much to stop it, and the non-Gülenist elements in the military brought the attempt to a halt. (See: "Turkish Coup Attempt, July 15th 2016", 16 July-Temmuz 2016). Apart from the unusually large loss of life on the night of the

The bloody night of July 15th, 2016.
(Image fromthe media.)

coup (240 plus), the event didn't cause a major rift in the citizenry- all political parties, and the media, were unanimous in blaming Gülen and the US, though CHP supporters circulated the unlikely rumor that Erdoğan had staged it himself to create an excuse for strengthening his grip. The US had miscalculated- again. Too much had changed since the days of the Gezi riots. The political differences continue, as they should, but Turkey's citizens were already on their way to reconciliation.

There is nothing our enemies wish more than discord- it gives them a chance to manipulate us. Remember the days of Right vs. Left, followed by fundamentalist vs. secular, republican vs. pro-Ottoman, Alevi- Sunni..! Then remember a nation is a family: there will be differences between the members, but there should be unity and mutual support. And our geography is a neighbourhood, a community; discord in our neighbors' house spells trouble in our home as well.

There will be provokation. There has always been provokation. The thing to do is to resist!

As a great man said: "Peace at home, peace abroad."

And that can be achieved with peace in our hearts!

Happy new year!

Our seasonal message this year.

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!