Let's agree on what is evil and what is good...
Instead of encouraging public division with statements accusatory over the terrorist attacks, political leaders should act with common sense, putting aside their ideologies
Since the bombing last Saturday we have been engulfed by a flood of commentaries, accusations, counter accusations, speculations and gossip. Disinformation, lies and slanderous comments are in abundance. This is creating confusion and discord in society and seems to be doing more harm than the disgusting terrorist bomb attack that left more than 100 dead and more than 200 injured did.
We saw an opening when the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Chairman and interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met with his arch rival, Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. There were high hopes that if these two leaders, that are poles apart, can come together and discuss the current state of affairs after the bombing, the strong polarization in Turkish society could be eased. However, Kılıçdaroğlu revealed some of the confidential information discussed between himself and Davutoğlu, like his demand for the resignation of the justice and interior ministers. The positive side of the meeting was that the two sides agreed that they should dissuade their deputies and officials from sending negative tweets and that they should be in close contact to help the country through this crisis. The CHP also declared it is ready to form a coalition with the AK Party after the polls.
The social democrats of Turkey have to be more sincere. They should not preach high ideals and principles and then violate them for their selfish interests. A professor identified as Okan Akan called on members of the Hacettepe University to stop treating patients on Monday to protest the bombing but then he himself accepted patients at his own private practice at 4:30 p.m. (he should have worked at Hacettepe until 5:00 p.m.). This kind of insincerity should be condemned.
The fact that the Kurdish nationalist Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş has started to abandon his negative attitude, which he strongly displayed after the bombing, gave us some hope that there was still some room in Turkey for common sense to prevail within the Kurdish political movement and that people would start acting with their brains and not their hearts.
Of course the fact that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) remains uncooperative and refuses to be a part of a national drive to restore normalcy is also something to be underlined.
Yet all these are details. There is a wrong and there is a right. Killing people, bombing people, oppressing people, forcing them to flee their homes is wrong. These are universally accepted norms. Opening your arms to people fleeing oppression, offering help to the poor and needy, opposing evil and striving to eradicate malice, combatting racism, opposing all forms of discrimination are good, righteous acts.
We have to distinguish between what is wrong and what is right and we all have to rally for the cause of what is "right" irrespective of our beliefs, ideology and affiliations. This is how we can bring Turkey out of the current mess and help it prevail as an island of peace, security and tranquility in an area where evil dominates.
We saw an opening when the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Chairman and interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met with his arch rival, Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. There were high hopes that if these two leaders, that are poles apart, can come together and discuss the current state of affairs after the bombing, the strong polarization in Turkish society could be eased. However, Kılıçdaroğlu revealed some of the confidential information discussed between himself and Davutoğlu, like his demand for the resignation of the justice and interior ministers. The positive side of the meeting was that the two sides agreed that they should dissuade their deputies and officials from sending negative tweets and that they should be in close contact to help the country through this crisis. The CHP also declared it is ready to form a coalition with the AK Party after the polls.
The social democrats of Turkey have to be more sincere. They should not preach high ideals and principles and then violate them for their selfish interests. A professor identified as Okan Akan called on members of the Hacettepe University to stop treating patients on Monday to protest the bombing but then he himself accepted patients at his own private practice at 4:30 p.m. (he should have worked at Hacettepe until 5:00 p.m.). This kind of insincerity should be condemned.
The fact that the Kurdish nationalist Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş has started to abandon his negative attitude, which he strongly displayed after the bombing, gave us some hope that there was still some room in Turkey for common sense to prevail within the Kurdish political movement and that people would start acting with their brains and not their hearts.
Of course the fact that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) remains uncooperative and refuses to be a part of a national drive to restore normalcy is also something to be underlined.
Yet all these are details. There is a wrong and there is a right. Killing people, bombing people, oppressing people, forcing them to flee their homes is wrong. These are universally accepted norms. Opening your arms to people fleeing oppression, offering help to the poor and needy, opposing evil and striving to eradicate malice, combatting racism, opposing all forms of discrimination are good, righteous acts.
We have to distinguish between what is wrong and what is right and we all have to rally for the cause of what is "right" irrespective of our beliefs, ideology and affiliations. This is how we can bring Turkey out of the current mess and help it prevail as an island of peace, security and tranquility in an area where evil dominates.
Last Update: October 13, 2015 01:54