Soner Cagaptay is very confused, cooks up fear and misinforms the readers by trying to portray Tayyip Erdogan and AKP as anti-secular, part-liberal, and anti-female, anti-US and anti-EU and the battle in Turkey is between traditional Islamic values and Western values. This is certainly not true, to start with the secularists which include the military, judiciary and academics are not pro-Western and don???t believe in Western political values. They oppose market capitalism, any form of religious expression, minority rights, etc. The old elites who claim to be ???secular??? have suppressed groups that don???t agree far too long. The Turkish people and the AKP have no problem with secularism as is reflected in public opinion surveys. The AKP is a party that stands for more religious freedoms including the wearing of headscarves in Universities which is also reflected in public surveys. It is the ???secularists??? who oppose EU membership, minority rights and religious freedoms.
The absurdity of Soner Cagaptay???s arguments reaches a climax by questioning the secular credentials of AKP in regards to alcohol sales. This is just another feeble attempt to create fear and an argument out of nothing.
Soner Cagaptay blames the AKP on the drop in employment opportunities for women, increased tax revenue from alcohol sales and also a drop in alcohol consumption as evidence of ???ala carte??? liberalism and against secularism. But neglects to mention the changing landscape of Turkey moving from an agricultural third world country to a westernized industrialised country and also the demographic make-up. If any person worked on the fields their whole life and then migrates to the city with low skills, what is the chance of finding suitable work? If the population is young, how harder is it for older people to find work?
Soner Cagaptay can do much better by telling the truth rather writing half-truths or misinforming.
Turkey’s A La Carte Liberalism
Liberalism is in the AKP's self-interest and could provide it with a defense against the case to ban it.
Member Comments
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Posted By: Goksel Doganay @ 07/15/2008 3:24:37 AM
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Posted By: Goksel Doganay @ 07/15/2008 3:24:20 AM
Soner Cagaptay is very confused, cooks up fear and misinforms the readers by trying to portray Tayyip Erdogan and AKP as anti-secular, part-liberal, and anti-female, anti-US and anti-EU and the battle in Turkey is between traditional Islamic values and Western values. This is certainly not true, to start with the secularists which include the military, judiciary and academics are not pro-Western and don???t believe in Western political values. They oppose market capitalism, any form of religious expression, minority rights, etc. The old elites who claim to be ???secular??? have suppressed groups that don???t agree far too long. The Turkish people and the AKP have no problem with secularism as is reflected in public opinion surveys. The AKP is a party that stands for more religious freedoms including the wearing of headscarves in Universities which is also reflected in public surveys. It is the ???secularists??? who oppose EU membership, minority rights and religious freedoms.
The absurdity of Soner Cagaptay???s arguments reaches a climax by questioning the secular credentials of AKP in regards to alcohol sales. This is just another feeble attempt to create fear and an argument out of nothing.
Soner Cagaptay blames the AKP on the drop in employment opportunities for women, increased tax revenue from alcohol sales and also a drop in alcohol consumption as evidence of ???ala carte??? liberalism and against secularism. But neglects to mention the changing landscape of Turkey moving from an agricultural third world country to a westernized industrialised country and also the demographic make-up. If any person worked on the fields their whole life and then migrates to the city with low skills, what is the chance of finding suitable work? If the population is young, how harder is it for older people to find work?
Soner Cagaptay can do much better by telling the truth rather writing half-truths or misinforming. -
Posted By: erenkoy @ 07/02/2008 4:09:03 PM
Dear yavuzdemir,
You pretend/try to be a libertaerian and then say "but I can not dare to look others. The biggest opposition party always conflicts with the values of the society"...you AKP folks are really confused. If you have a tendency to to shove 'your ideas' in other's faces as 'values of soceity' then you are not liberal/liberterian you are a plain old bigot. If you were a liberal you would not try to come up with excuses for AKP's patriarchal and alcohol bashing policies. By the way, AKP did not only increase the tax on alcohol but also denied liquor license to most applicants. AKP did not only encourage women to have 3 children but also replaced most female decision makers with male counterparts. Good luck with your PR campaign.-
Posted By: Goksel Doganay @ 07/15/2008 3:29:34 AM
What has the increased tax rate on alcohol got to do with Secularism or freedom? If you want to drink alcohol just go and buy some raki and drink yourself under the table.
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Posted By: yavuzdemir @ 06/24/2008 7:58:56 AM
Justice and Development Party(AKP) is the most liberal parti in Turkey. Unfortunately there isn't any other party that stands for freedom. The voices against the ruling party(AKP) comes from the Turkish elites who are ruling Turkey by bureaucracy, media and businessmen. These superior elites have been exploited the country for decades, but today the system is changing and these developments are not taking a kind welcome from the people who live on unearned income. If the bankrupted banks, their owners and their relations are analysed the situation can be easily understood.
On the other hand AKP has faults when examined by the window of liberalism but I can not dare to look others. The biggest opposition party always conflicts with the values of the society and although it is a social democrat party(!) it takes support from the elites of the society. IF AN ARTICLE WOULD BE PUBLISHED ABOUT TURKEY IT SHOULD ANALYSE TURKEY'S A LA CARTE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS
I hope one day some people criticise Justice and Development Parti because of their faults instead of their beliefs.
There are also distortions in the article. The Prime Minister didn't said "All WOMEN should make at least three children." He said that if the families will have less than 3 children, Turkey's advantage of having young population will be lost. If these is a anti-secular, anti-liberal comment, where will you put the European countries that are paying money to families for every child to encourage people for more children.
In Turkey there isn't any pressure on people who wants to drink alcohol, in direct contradiction they are always the advantageous side. Building a relation between freedom of belief and tax increase is not an objective view. Also while analysing these claim the tax increase on other luxury consumption should be compared with the tax increase on wine. Additionally taxes on alcohol and tobacco are also high in other countries. Are there secret radical islamic governors in that countries ?
Turkey is on the way of being a developed, libertian, egalitarian country but there some stones on the way that slow down. They may slow down but can not stop the train. -
Posted By: nyoped @ 06/18/2008 1:53:26 PM
Saying AKP is a liberal party is no different than saying Bill O'Reilly is an objective journalist. Neither Erdogan nor other members of AKP are new in Turkish political life. We have known most of them for two decades... Although AKP members are not allowed to give public speeches in order to hide their true face, many have broken this rule to provide enough examples to show their stance: undemocratic and illiberal. They have not been able to pass many laws based on religion not because they have not tried but because there has been a strong resistance by seculars.
They say they have changed. Did they? Very little. For example, they used to consider uncovered women 'prostitute' now they say "they are not prostitute but dress like one". For a biased foreigner -liberal or conservative- these kinds of little improvements might be satisfactory, however, for most Turks it is unacceptable that this mindset rule the country.
We will not settle for a Western-brokered religious republic. Turkey has been established as a secular democracy long time ago and we demand high standards when it comes to democracy.
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