PM is not imposing capital punishment

From the beginning, I had not believed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan genuinely wanted capital punishment to be reinstated; I still do not and the latest developments have proven me right.
I have gathered a few clues and reached this argument. You can call it a type of soothsaying. Like the major portion of the media, I go with my assumptions.

Let’s look at the reasons:

v The most important sign would have been yesterday’s group meeting. In the event that the prime minister just said what was on his mind, then the party members would have immediately rolled up their sleeves and started the job. It didn’t happen. Erdoğan did not even mention it.

v If not in the group with his party, then he would share it with his closest consultants or boards, but he has not shared anything on this topic up until now. I know this because I have spoken to some important names in the party and I have seen that they do not know any more than I do. They also expect to talk to the prime minister so that the matter becomes clearer.

v Some prominent names in the party, especially those who have previously opposed capital punishment, are now in a difficult position. They don’t know how to make a turn. Moreover, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s latest statement is also very clear. Davutoğlu said the prime minister only referred to the massacre in Norway and questioned capital punishment. Davutoğlu is an experienced person who would not make such a statement without talking to the prime minister.

Why then? Why did the prime minister refer to capital punishment this much? It is not easy to guess what goes through the head of a politician. Is this an investment in the 2014 presidential elections? Is it a threat against terrorism? A response to the expectations of the public? Is it to please pro-death penalty groups?

Maybe it is all of them together. To be on the safe side, though: We may see all of a sudden that the prime minister, in a much unexpected manner, takes out the file on the death penalty.

Nobody wants to break away from the West

There was a very enlightening article from Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Rıza Türmen in yesterday’s daily Milliyet. He explained what kind of development we are to face in the event capital punishment is reinstated.

v We would be withdrawing our signature from the European Convention on Human Rights.
v Withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights would also mean withdrawing from the Council of Europe, which we helped found. * Accession talks to the European Union would immediately be cut and Turkey, in a way, would be considered to have given up on achieving full membership.
Maybe you will read all these results from a political point of view but you would be mistaken.

You should also consider how the credits and investments of a Turkey which has radically changed its relations with the EU would dry up in even a short period of time. We may or may not like Europe, but it is an extremely significant assurance for Turkey.

It is an economic assurance as well as political: It is an assurance of human rights and democracy.
He may be not as much pro-European as President Abdullah Gül, but Erdoğan knows very well the balance between the pillars that hold Turkey. The premier will not put in any effort to reinstate capital punishment.