Hatred and prejudice only lead to bitterness and blindness

Submitted by Mehmet (Turkey), Jun 27, 2011 at 21:03

You are honest enough not to deny you are biased. Especially, you and Ianus are quite specialized in expressing your hatred towards anything and anyone Turkish. This is your rightful joice as you are reasonably polite. But, your prejudice based on the past clouds your perception of today. Your prose reflects your bitterness, and I am sure you have your reasons. Yet, is it not a pity to invest your intellectual and writing skills in an unproductive blame game? Why not try to envision a better world also? After all, as human beings all of us are originally from Africa, and we are only one species among countless others.

Turkey is rapidly democratizing, economically growing, and wants to cooperate with all other countries. Democratization is not an event but a process. It takes time and the road is bumpy. But, the trend is the opposite of Daniel Pipes' expectations of a last fair election. Reports from EU, Freedom House, and other reputable international organizations confirm this. AKP is not an islamist party at all. It is evolving into an Islamic version of European Christian Democratic parties. Turkey's GNP tripled during the last 9 years and income distribution also improved relatively. The drafting and acceptance of a new, liberal democratic, and human-centered (instead of the current state-centric one) is on the current political agenda.

Turkey's current foreign policy in its region is inspired by its European integration experience. It envisions removal of border restrictions for people and business, and seeks its security (along traditional deterrence) by promoting a neighborhood of transparent and peaceful democratic regimes.

The death and removal of the non-Muslim population of the Ottoman State during and after WW I is a great human tragedy. With them Turkey would surely be a better place to live. Relations with Armenia are restricted by the Azeybaijan-Armenia conflict. But, cooperation is sustained. The Armenian massacres, and the current problems of Kurds and other minorities will have to be faced more empathically in Turkey. This has recently started with academic studies and media debates, but has a long way to go. People have been socialized one way in the past, now it will take time to encourage more open and empathic minds.

In conclusion, your historical criticisms are important but you are too pessimistic about the future. Friendship is better than enmity.

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