Hopefully, an era is coming to an end

On the morning of Nov. 2, an era in our history will come to an end. If you wonder how we will remember this era in the future, we would have mixed feelings. 

Some of us would remember this era with anger; some with sorrow; some with pain; some others with less anger and others will remember as if nothing particular happened. 

This will be marked as an era when very good things happened in the country and at the same time an era when the biggest harms were inflicted. 

It will not be easy to repair the damage of this era. It will take years to mend the wrecked justice system, the polarized feelings, the broken homes, the shattered state, the relationships with neighbors turned into ruins and animosity. 

The disappointed consciences of not only seculars and moderns but also of Muslims with conscience, the lies uttered in the name of Islam, the unearned profits built on beliefs and moral destruction will not be easily restored. 

But, again, keep your spirits high… We all will come out having learned a lot from these 12 years. 

Our secular people will end this era with a better understanding of the oppressed feelings of genuine Muslims and the injustices they were exposed to in former times. Muslims, on the other hand, will have understood that the biggest injustice, the biggest cruelty can come from political Islam. 

We will all have learned that our religion cannot be a cover for corruption and cruelty. The military will end this era with the knowledge of where they should stand and the lines they should not cross. 

All of us will learn the importance of having a strong army in our region, which remains within the boundaries of democracy. We all will have learned at the end of this era how much damage the exploitation of Islam for politics causes both Islam and all of us.  

We would all understand how disastrous uncontrolled power, hubris and one-man rule are.

What I mean is that, in a way, it was good we lived through and suffered all of these.

Think of your country 

I remember that day very clearly. The Republican People’s Party (CHP), led by Deniz Baykal, came to the parliament with carnations placed in their breast pockets. 

That day was March 1, 2003. The Turkish parliament was voting whether or not Turkey should enter the Gulf War. A speaker of parliament from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was presiding over the session. That person was Bülent Arınç. 

The representative of the Turkish people that day rejected the motion. The entire world was astonished. All the anti-war circles in the world were applauding Turkey and its parliament. 

While Tony Blair was apologizing the other day on CNN, I remembered Deniz Baykal and the CHP. I remembered Bülent Arınç.

That time, I was arguing in favor of Turkey’s intervention. But on that day, I applauded my country’s parliament. Today I understand much better what an important guarantee the parliamentarian system is. 
To those who have buried Turkey in the Middle East quagmire with their personal ambitions and their caliph dreams: listen to Tony Blair and read history very well. One day, you will absolutely be doing the same thing.

Stop this historic mistake before it is too late. Your Syrian policy and your Egyptian policy have busted. 
Together, by your own selves, you have left Turkey all alone, stark naked in the world. 

Enough of these fantasies of yours and personal ambitions… Think for your country, for a little bit.