Prime minister’s surgery results should not be hidden

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is this country’s only decision maker.

We may or may not share his policies, but we cannot deny this fact. There is no decision made without the prime minister’s approval or his last say. The wheels of the government will not roll. No step can be taken except for daily routines.

The position of the prime minister also had such a significance in the past, but Erdoğan’s management style of both his party and the government is more strict, more disciplined compared to his predecessors. Everyone looks at what he will be saying. Nobody challenges a word that has come out of his mouth.

When seen from that point of view, Prime Minister Erdoğan’s position is no different than U.S. President Barack Obama or French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Each step taken, every sentence by such influential decision makers, from whatever he eats to his health, everything about him is very important. Even the slightest details, from how he looks to whether his face is pale or he looks tired, are observed.

In the face of such sensitivity, be it the U.S. or French presidential services, the system they follow precisely is transparency. They know that as long as they are transparent, especially as long as they inform the public of even the simplest development on health issues, they will be able to prevent unnecessary guesses and rumors.

Yesterday Ahmet Altan mentioned it. We have adopted, on the contrary, a Soviet stance. We say, “Let that not be heard” or “Let’s solve it secretly.” For this reason, the last two days were the days of the rumor mill. The most unlikely rumors were whispered; whereas, if the prime minister’s disease and his surgery had been shared with the public openly from the beginning, these unnecessary rumors would not have emerged. Thank God a statement came Nov. 28 and the incident was understood before it reached a level to affect the markets.

Turkey has changed. It does not like “confidentiality” as it used to be.

What happens from now on is also very important. Frequent briefings about the prime minister’s health must be made. The public should not be treated like a child.

We also wish the prime minister a speedy recovery.

Media missed big time

Let us turn the interrogation spotlight on ourselves. Can you imagine? Prime Minister Erdoğan is hospitalized, goes under surgery; meanwhile he is not seen anywhere for two days and the media does not know about it.

Nothing can excuse this situation.

Leaders of countries, especially if they are known for their surprise outbursts like Erdoğan, are monitored every minute.

The media controls each vehicle that comes out of the White House. Obama’s every step is known. Even Sarkozy’s morning jogs are watched from a distance. In short, monitoring with your own eyes is more important than any press release.

Obviously our friends have started doing “press release” journalism. They have fallen into the ease of monitoring the prime minister through the information fed by his press office.

Let’s not overlook Merkel’s apology

While we are debating the “apology for Dersim,” Germany apologized to the Turks. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the entire German parliament observed a minute of silence. We could not expose this event adequately to the Turkish public.

As a matter of fact, the apology was not only for the Turks, but for everyone the neo-Nazi groups had killed. Whatever it is, this ceremony was extremely important both from the point of view of demonstrating Germany’s sensitivity and also as setting an example to how a formal apology should be made.

The ceremony was not impromptu. The required environment was created. The meeting was loaded with significance.