Misguided friend

Submitted by Baran (Australia), Mar 26, 2010 at 21:24

Thank you for your lengthy comment. I think we are straying off the real issue which is about the Turkish generals and their "right" to "interfere" with and "repair" the democratic process in Turkey as stated by pundit Daniel Pipes ...

The issue of Islam crept into the exchanges as some people are afraid that the democratic process in Turkey, unless reined in by the generals, will lead to an Islamic Republic menacing various groups/countries.

Generally speaking, newspaper articles are not reliable sources for anything at all. Acquiring the habit of looking at the scholarly sources is far more rewarding than looking at sensationalized misguiding newspaper headlines. Perhaps you should spend some time on this site: www.abc.net.au/MediaWatch

I am not trying to champion Islam or any other religion. In a democratic society, various interpretations of religions can be openly discussed and debated. At the end of the day, hopefully reason, logic & evidence based argument will triumph. Democracies are not perfect either, but they are the best form of government until something better is discovered/invented.

I find the notion that the Turkish generals should be above the law and have the "right" to overthrow democratically elected governments in Turkey –or anywhere else for that matter- to be inherently repugnant. I therefore openly question the motives of those who support such a notion. It does not deserve the support of any decent person, in my view.

Most, perhaps even all, of Turkey's ills can be easily traced to the generals who have been trying to impose the sick and despotic Kemalist mentality on the citizens of Turkey by brute force. Turkey's citizens are not a herd of sheep in need of guidance by the generals who spent most of their adult lives perfecting the art and science of killing people.

There is nothing preventing the generals from resigning/retiring from their posts and joining an existing political party or forming a new one to compete with others for the votes of Turkey's citizens. The generals know only too well that they have no chance of winning more than a handful of votes, therefore they resort to force and violence.

So, this is the crux of the discussion: Do you support citizens of Turkey in their quest for democracy where everyone is equal before the law or are you in favour of a bunch of generals above the law and bent on imposing an unwanted authoritarian ideology on the citizens? Where do you really stand, my dear Grand Infidel?

And why are you not faithful to your partner and choose to be an infidel, I wonder?

PS: Cardinal Richelieu is reputed to have said, Give me six lines written by any man and I will find enough evidence in them to send him to the guillotine!

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