On Western hypocrisy over coups, democracy
Over the last 200 years, Western colonial empires learned almost everything related to forming, governing and destroying a state. Up until the eruption of World War I, almost all non-Western elements in the world were defeated and subjugated. Moreover, the colonial empires also managed to bring down the belief systems that were derived from the history, culture and religion in the Islamic world in general and the Ottoman Empire in particular.
Founded under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Republic of Turkey set off with the aim of being a democratic, free and secular state. After 80 years of political struggle, Turkey in the last decade took significant steps in the fields of democratization, rule of law and human rights. In the modern era, democracy is the leading value that has been supported by Western states. As citizens of Turkey, we always believed that by pursuing Western values, operating in the democratic system and defending the rule of law, we could establish a first-class democratic state that would also be recognized and respected by Western states. Yet, we now see for sure that most Western states still aim to colonize under the veil of democracy. For those states, the vital point is not democracy per se, but their own "national," in fact colonial, interests. Ten years ago, Western states were criticized for practicing double standards in terms of democracy against the non-Western world. Today, few from the Islamic world raise such an accusation, as almost everybody is sure that the issues of human rights and democracy have no substantial place in the mindset of the Western ruling elite.
The principal achievement of the Western world has been the establishment of democracy and rule of law in their own homelands. For the non-Western world, however, they never had such a goal. Countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East have always been rendered controllable for the continuation of the colonial process albeit in new forms.
After the Arab Spring, the military in Egypt forcefully seized political power through a bloody coup. As a people that have long-suffered from military interventions, Turkey harshly criticized the rising militarism in Egypt. Western powers preferred to side with the Egyptian militarism, rather than defending the democratically elected government. This was clearly a contradiction and an inconsistency proving that the Western states have lost their moral supremacy for good. Their material interests and colonial expectations get the upper hand over their discourse of democracy and rule of law.
On July 15, a particular group, which had settled in various state institutions for 40 years in Turkey, holds a kind of messianic claim in Islam and curiously resembles the Knights Templar of the Middle Ages, Qadiani in India or the present day DAESH, attempted a bloody coup in which unarmed civilians were murdered mercilessly. On this tragic day, we witnessed not only their assault on Parliament, the police and almost every civilian institution, but also the courage of the Turkish people to challenge arms and tanks on an unprecedented scale and manner.
After the defeat of the coup by the collective force of the people, the majority of Western states seem to be discontented in the face of the victory of democracy against militarism in Turkey. As the mastermind of the failed coup, Fethullah Gülen openly threatened the Turkish people in his writings that were being published in the West's most respected newspapers.
The Western media knew the danger of DAESH as a source of global terrorism, but they do still not grasp its foundational resources and future goals. Just like DAESH, the terrorist organization of Gülen abuses religion to gain money, recruits and influence. What's worse, no one within the grassroots of that organization knows the true motives of Gülen. Thousands of people within that organization lost their individual wills, let alone their natural loyalty to their homeland, through advanced psychological and espionage techniques and have thus become political suicide bombers. As Turks, we now realize the magnitude of the given trouble through the failed coup.
These people are organized in almost every country in the world, including the United States. As nobody knows their true goals and their short- and long-term missions, the given terrorist group constitutes a significant threat not only to Turkey, but also for the world as a whole. Their genuine motives are craftily hidden behind their discourse of moderate Islam. Therefore, if Western states refuse to grasp the threat posed by that terrorist organization not only for Turkish democracy, but also for the future of democracy in the world as a whole, then their moral supremacy is gone for good.
Western powers should, therefore, reconsider the fact that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as the elected president of Turkey, has never walked outside of democratic institutions despite the fact that his rivals tried every anti-democratic method to overthrow his political leadership. Needless to say, the West should have sided with the choice of the people and thus democracy, rather than military interventions.
Founded under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Republic of Turkey set off with the aim of being a democratic, free and secular state. After 80 years of political struggle, Turkey in the last decade took significant steps in the fields of democratization, rule of law and human rights. In the modern era, democracy is the leading value that has been supported by Western states. As citizens of Turkey, we always believed that by pursuing Western values, operating in the democratic system and defending the rule of law, we could establish a first-class democratic state that would also be recognized and respected by Western states. Yet, we now see for sure that most Western states still aim to colonize under the veil of democracy. For those states, the vital point is not democracy per se, but their own "national," in fact colonial, interests. Ten years ago, Western states were criticized for practicing double standards in terms of democracy against the non-Western world. Today, few from the Islamic world raise such an accusation, as almost everybody is sure that the issues of human rights and democracy have no substantial place in the mindset of the Western ruling elite.
The principal achievement of the Western world has been the establishment of democracy and rule of law in their own homelands. For the non-Western world, however, they never had such a goal. Countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East have always been rendered controllable for the continuation of the colonial process albeit in new forms.
After the Arab Spring, the military in Egypt forcefully seized political power through a bloody coup. As a people that have long-suffered from military interventions, Turkey harshly criticized the rising militarism in Egypt. Western powers preferred to side with the Egyptian militarism, rather than defending the democratically elected government. This was clearly a contradiction and an inconsistency proving that the Western states have lost their moral supremacy for good. Their material interests and colonial expectations get the upper hand over their discourse of democracy and rule of law.
On July 15, a particular group, which had settled in various state institutions for 40 years in Turkey, holds a kind of messianic claim in Islam and curiously resembles the Knights Templar of the Middle Ages, Qadiani in India or the present day DAESH, attempted a bloody coup in which unarmed civilians were murdered mercilessly. On this tragic day, we witnessed not only their assault on Parliament, the police and almost every civilian institution, but also the courage of the Turkish people to challenge arms and tanks on an unprecedented scale and manner.
After the defeat of the coup by the collective force of the people, the majority of Western states seem to be discontented in the face of the victory of democracy against militarism in Turkey. As the mastermind of the failed coup, Fethullah Gülen openly threatened the Turkish people in his writings that were being published in the West's most respected newspapers.
The Western media knew the danger of DAESH as a source of global terrorism, but they do still not grasp its foundational resources and future goals. Just like DAESH, the terrorist organization of Gülen abuses religion to gain money, recruits and influence. What's worse, no one within the grassroots of that organization knows the true motives of Gülen. Thousands of people within that organization lost their individual wills, let alone their natural loyalty to their homeland, through advanced psychological and espionage techniques and have thus become political suicide bombers. As Turks, we now realize the magnitude of the given trouble through the failed coup.
These people are organized in almost every country in the world, including the United States. As nobody knows their true goals and their short- and long-term missions, the given terrorist group constitutes a significant threat not only to Turkey, but also for the world as a whole. Their genuine motives are craftily hidden behind their discourse of moderate Islam. Therefore, if Western states refuse to grasp the threat posed by that terrorist organization not only for Turkish democracy, but also for the future of democracy in the world as a whole, then their moral supremacy is gone for good.
Western powers should, therefore, reconsider the fact that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as the elected president of Turkey, has never walked outside of democratic institutions despite the fact that his rivals tried every anti-democratic method to overthrow his political leadership. Needless to say, the West should have sided with the choice of the people and thus democracy, rather than military interventions.
Last Update: July 30, 2016 01:25