Renowned Turkish author Perihan Mağden has assessed the anti-democratic practices and increasing pressures in Turkey and described the current period in Turkey by comparing Nazi Germany. “I wonder if there were a few Jews here and there of the Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and they lived to the end of the war? They must have lived in hiding. Today I feel like Jews living in the same Nazi Germany,” said Mağden.
“In my life, I do not remember a period that I fell apart and felt powerless this much. While being imprisoned my arm used to be twisted behind my back, I used to free myself and continue to use my hand again. My wing was broken in a few places, whenever it was healed I used to fly away. It’s not like that anymore. I am a crippled person now. The guilt is even worse than that,” she said in a desperate mood.
Mağden gave an interview to journalist Eylem Yılmaz from online news portal Ahval and assessed the current situation in Turkey under the rule of the autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
How is Perihan Mağden today?
I’m a little better relatively. Because, people do not always want to live at the bottom of the well instinctively. And probably there are ways such as adaptation and desensitization that will keep the human being alive.
I do not know… Ahmet Altan is my close friend… Especially for him, sometimes I had an incredible remorse about him. But he stands tall in the prison… This is consolation. A kind of cold comfort… With this consolation, you are continuing your life somehow. But it is absolutely true that my hands are broken… I had to give a signed book for one or two people, I could sign the books randomly. Today, I do not even have my own signature… Really, I am unable to hold a pen.
Do you ever think about writing a book about this period? Or writing a column again?
Kibariye (Turkish arabesque singer) has a song called ‘Do I have a place to go?’ I’m in a situation like that song. (Laughs)
I do not have a place to say I have to write, and I do not think there is something I need to write. And I belief no one needs at all.
As soon as I start writing, probably I would get into trouble. Even in normal times, so many cases were filed against me, I don’t feel desire to get into trouble in such an unlawful environment.
I am in a position that I lost my affection completely for my own column and my language. I see myself unnecessary. I live like a rat in these days.
I wonder if there were a few Jews here and there of the Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and they lived to the end of the war? They must have lived in hiding. Today I feel like Jews living in the same Nazi Germany.
You have said that “I have been disinclined to write column, I don’t like the articles anymore.” When you look at the current situation of the media and if you evaluate both the political atmosphere and the attitude of the media in Turkey, what is the decisive thing that made Turkey such a bad place; media itself or politics?
The chicken or egg discussion. But I think Tayyip Erdogan has done a very, very good analysis. He thought that; I can not pump my desires, ideology, reign without silencing and seizing this media before I establish my own media.
He has got a very serious siege. It seems everyone was eager to accept it. The writers in the mainstream media write like a diplomat. But it’s not like a normal diplomat, it’s like an AKP (the ruling Justice and Development Party chaired by Erdoğan) diplomat. They are writing the articles as if they are the apprentices of Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (Foreign Minister of Turkey).
Even the mainstream media is so intimidated, they can at least write only a little useful articles. I do not even say a little criticism, the best thing they can do is to write useful article, which is a bit useful. They are even so scared to do that. This is very disappointing…
What is the main factor of the media being so “easily seized” in Turkey? Is media based on the relationship of media proprietors with government party, or is it related journalists themselves?
The media had been working as a soldier of the military for years, the columnists were really pro-military and they were writing with this approach. First, they had a very strong training in getting orders from the authority. When the commander changes, equerries can continue their lives with the new one.
Secondly, the relationships of media proprietors as you said. This is a separate fact. The last time I wrote an article; The greatest brand of the Turks is İtttihat Benz (joking).
Our greatest brand, our greatest flag of our souls, I now understand better; it is the İttihatçılık (an ideology having unionist understanding at the end of Ottoman era). In the spirit of the İttihatçılık, you are cooperating with religious people and with the others as well. The logic of the İtihatçılık is basically; ‘There is no friends for the Turks other than the Turks’ and ‘we are so strong.’ The isolation policy, Tayyip Erdogan was compelled to implement due to the reason of having sorely frustration in the Middle East, so beautifully matches with the İttihatçılık, we can call Eurasianism, they beautifully completed each other.
The Turks have no discovery, it is said we can not create our own brand, but we have created it. The most important brand of these lands is İttihatçılık. It is a kind of disease.
In an article you wrote on a case that President Erdogan filed over your alleged insult in (now-closed) Nokta newsweekly, you had said “Erdoğan is hand in hand with the Ergenekon ideology and militarists. He also carries out a ‘national’ war against the Kurds! Even ten people will not walk against Erdoğan’s Palace. This is the guarantee.” By evaluating it with the debate of Atatürkism getting famous lately, could you say that this “alliance” you mentioned is still going on?
This Atatürkism debate confirms me. In an unexpected maneuver, suddenly the debate of Atatürkism began. Do you know what I likened this to; once upon a time staunch secularists, very fanatical Kemalist aunties or Republican demonstrators had begun to go to Umrah.
Kemalists had a certain transformation along with the rise of the AKP and started by saying that “We are more religious, we are also followers of this religion.”
How the Kemalists were so satisfied with their lives under Muslim identity, now they (Erdoğanists) are also satisfied with Kemalism and similar things are being followed by AKP.
Erdoğan, who felt that he had to hold the nationalist identity so tight, suddenly he switched to Atatürk from Gazi Mustafa Pasha while he had not been pronouncing Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in recent past.
And we are talking about a very pragmatic, very opportunist structure. It is being shaped for anything. Whatever turns it on, if Atatürkism is useful he becomes Kemalist (Atatürkçü). Is this the same person who commenced the Kurdish Initiative? Is the same man who made this persecution to the Kurds?
That’s why I expect everything. I had said ten people would walk to the palace and they did not walk, will not walk too. You live in a country where these terrible things happening.
However, during the debates of Atatürkism an image emerged like this; the editor-in-chief of Güneş daily, Turgay Güler recited the İzmir Anthem on Ülke TV, and then previous year, headline of his newspaper dated on November 10 (Atatürk’s date of death) was circulated and those who positioned himself as Kemalist reacted. Can it not be interpreted as one of the crackling voices of alliance that you mentioned such reactions?
The Kemalists are in the indignation and they are right. The person, neither fish nor fowl Turgay, who is in the mood so superior and so flawless, said that he sang the anthem much better that Kılıçdaroğlu (chairperson of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, CHP).
He believes that he has a great voice, he sings so beautifully. Big loss for the opera. He also says that; “I was having cold on that day.” If he doesn’t have cold as if we would be seeing a new Ruhi Su. He really thinks that he is Ruhi Su.
I guess, the thing combining all the staunchly Kemalists and religious people (Erdoğanists) is a hollow assertiveness.
Just as the Kemalists say that they go to Umrah, rightists also say that they sing the İzmir Anthem the best and write the best poem for Atatürk.
The harmony of these two group is based on the fact that both of them are not from world class, They are not from the European standards. Because, they have no value in the world and in Europe. So, these are the people who say let’s it be small but mine. Namely, they want only to be main actors in a small Turkey. This mentality that we used to see on Kemalism, we see now in AKP. A derogated, an unimportant and a bandit-like Turkey has been created. So we are treated as semi-rough state.
But there were also debates over the Ensar Vakfı (foundation affiliated to Erdoğan), the Imam Hatip Schools (religious schools), the right given to mufti to be official registrar for marriage. There is no consensus in these areas…
Is that so, the mufti was given the right to perform the marriage but no objection was heard. The Ensar Vakfı incident, the children were abused and raped, but it was treated as if it is a simple and criminal offense. In fact there is a very ideological crunch there. This was not named.
What is the name?
The Islamist ideology captured their secular island sneakily. They do not want to name this too. They exploit so much this partnership that they do not give a full diagnosis or a name to the problem in any way.
Why do they accept the right given to the mufti as a registrar of marriage? Why do not the women of the Republic demonstrators pour into the streets? Mufti marriage means a version of the imam marriage.
That means the very child is going to be married off. Why was TEOG (university entrance examination) removed? So that their children will be kept in Imam Hatip schools. Imam Hatips are in a terrible condition, their intention is to compel the ones, who never send their children to Imam Hatip, to enroll their children to these schools in order to raise very low education level.
That’s why the TEOG was removed. This is for sure. Look, this is not named. The things happened in the Ensar Vakfı are not a simple, criminal incident, it is very serious. There is a disruption there.
There is an imposition other than raping the children, astronomical financial resources being given, the very dangerous idea of infiltration of this implementation to all the schools. The rape of three or five children is terrible, but treating as if the problem is only that much and drawing attention only for that is much worse than that. Turkish people have a habit of talking about the visible part of the iceberg.
In one article you say “Ergenekon was always in the AKP.” But the AKP was a party that made European Union reforms in its early years. With these reforms, it could bring together many people from outside his own base. Today, it develops the exact opposite policies. How do you relate that a party that Ergenekon is always in, can produce these policies?
The fact that Ergenekon has a small group within the party is different, and after gaining a great power to seize power is different. Here, the power depends who is heavier in the seesaw, and I think the side of power has changed.
And now I think that; Ergenekon is not a monolithic power like nothing could be. There may also be NATO elements within Ergenekon. Perhaps more western and those periods they showed more favor to a western type of democracy.
The weight of the different elements in Ergenekon also increased. But as a result, the dream of Ergenekon is being implemented today. Everything that Ergenekon dreams is being implemented. One has to be blind to not see this. There is consensus in the case of a very desirable blindness.
Where do you see the journalists, who are arrested or pending trial like Cumhuriyet daily, Ahmet Altan and Mehmet Altan, Zaman daily columnists in this weight balance? Also, in the press cases, it is very obvious that we can not see the attention in many other press cases like the case of Cumhuriyet daily drawing. What is your interpretation of the reason for this?
First there is a revanchist feeling especially against Ahmet Altan. There is a state of alienation toward the facts which are lies which are not true, such as ‘My colonel died in prison and you did not care and died because of you.’ I want to say that CHP is in solidarity with the Cumhuriyet daily, but what happened, nothing. What could they do for their deputy Enis Berberoğlu?
They made “March for Justice…”
Yeah. Then suddenly evaporated. I liked the walk of justice very much, I was very happy. I wanted to hug Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. However, nothing came after that. And nothing is coming.
When you take a step and you go out on a path, you can not own the seat, you cannot settle down due to that step. The “march for justice” should have been the first step in a very long march, but it remained just a step.
For example, why did not they head for Edirne?
I also received with astonishment at this; Ali Bulaç was the elder brother of all religious people, an ideologue that everyone gives a great importance to. I learned this lately, I have not read any of his articles. Recently, Ahmet Misbah Demircan’s father wrote an article, ‘Ali Bulaç was wronged’ he said. This is your role model. Is he a Gülenist because he writes in Zaman? And how to be a Gülenist, according to what?
If there is such a thing that Gülenists are terrorists then the main terrorist are the ones who are in government party. Because they had a very close relation with them for years. Are there any better Gülenists other than them? There was a prosecutor who said that the criterion is not only December 17th and 25th (the corruption scandal of Erdoğan and some ministers in 2013), but also before included.
Then they must jail whole AKP in prison. We are in a judicial swamp. In the past I used to find our justice terrible, but even though it is absurd we had a a kind of justice. Now I realised that today we are in much worse situation.
An example of this “polarization” emerged in press cases also appeared in Kadri Gürsel’s writing. He reacted very harshly to the fact that Mehmet Baransu was brought together in the same photo and that the photo was shared with the comment “all in prison for the same reasons.” He said that “There is no similarity between my detention and the media operator of Operation Sledgehammer. I am a journalist, not a porter.” How do you evaluate Kadri Gürsel’s reaction and the separation in press cases?
It was such a weird writing; they asked the camel, ‘why is your neck crooked?’ The camel laughed roaringly, ‘What of me is straight? What can I say about that article. During the Operation Sledgehammer and Ergenekon, this mentality has stored a horrible grudge against Ahmet Altan and Taraf daily.
From here I realized that they were not against pro-coup mindset. There is a scene created as if they are not coup-minded. No, they were coup-minded. If you say that ‘they were not planning the coup, they were trapped’ you would create a very large wall between you and the truth.
Someone was derived like Dani Rodrik, who said that ‘CDs were cropped like this, records were made like that’. I do not even think it is the case. Let’s say, it was. We have two documents like stone; Mustafa Balbay and Özden Örnek logs. These are the diaries of a coup which have been kept for years.
They can defend themselves; we predicted that it was a fundamental task of the Turkish Army to plan a secular coup against a religious power coming closer. This is the defense that needs to be done, and I will take off my hat against this defense. Because such a role is given to the military in Turkey.
But if you always lie and claim that it was conspiracy theory… There might be compass parts. As a result, whether the military wanted to make a coup or not? I think they wanted. We have a very big divergency here.
They are not satisfied with punishing the Taraf daily for its stance. The Taraf gave a very big fight incontrovertibly against the military domination in Turkey.
Although the MİT Trucks Case (the trucks belonging of the Turkish intelligence, loaded with weapons, going to jihadist groups in Syria), which was published in the Cumhuriyet, was published for the first time in Aydınlık daily, an investigation was not conducted to the Aydınlık while the cases were going on for the Cumhuriyet. Why is a lawsuit not filed against the Aydınlık daily yet and filed for the Cumhuriyet? What is the difference or the source of this double standard?
Doğu Perinçek gives the answer to this, “I am having the most delicate days of my life. I am not in power, but my ideas are in power.”
These are his feelings and he is quite right. For example, they have a very serious weight in judiciary right now. His party, which receive 0.1 percent of votes, is represented in the judiciary, the media, and everywhere at incredible level. They are ideologues of AKP-Ergenekon cooperation.
When these are experienced, we can not see any reaction from the society whose freedom of access to information taken away. Can we say that the main responsibility for the media to be so easily suppressed and “seizable” is society?
That’s the reason why I will not write. A very fascist point of view, actually; people are governed as they deserve. But we’re in a bit of that situation. There is no demand in the opposite direction.
People want to be in the mood of that; ‘I go to work, go to movie with my lovely friend, watch film, eat kabab and go to Kentucky Fried Chicken.’
And the majority is from this mentality. Actually, we are incredibly similar to America. I wrote it several times; we are not Europe, we are a small America. Trump and the Americans have no different.
They choose between Pepsi or Coca Cola, they vote for him. For example, Trump nudges the nation right now, but what are they doing, they are defusing with a bit of humor.
But there is an objection reflex in America, unlike ours. Trump, when he was elected, people went out and chanted as “You’re not my president” on the streets. Then, Trump implemented visa ban the citizens of seven Muslim countries, and again he faced the reaction.
They came out and they protested, then what happened? The visa ban was not implemented not because people reacted, it is because of the judges. Trump would not give up even if people went out for a month. The visa ban was not implemented because the judiciary was completely independent.
I do not agree with you. I gave you an example for your comparison with the unresponsiveness here. They protest there, but there’s no sound here. But the cost of getting out there is much lower than here. When they go out there, they yell, sing, play and go back to their homes.
While basketball national anthems are being played, they stand on their knees, what happens? If it is here they would be blamed of being Gülenist and all of them found themselves in Silivri Prison. If they use pepper gas and pressurized water in them, they may not come out. There is no cost there for these.
Is not the reason of that they have no cost of getting out there and they are not taken into custody, their social history? If they are not being taken into custody at any protest, if they are not sprayed pepper gas, did not the community itself construct this by paying the price in the past? Of course the independence of the judiciary… History, the history of the society determined today.
Of course, you’re right. They have struggled in time, they have constitutions like stone. The first law takes the freedoms under protection. But I say to you; The texture of the American people is really like us. I mean by comparing with the European. We are talking about a society that is very selfish, commercial, focused on its own comfort.
There is no environment there in European standards that the vast majority of the population is internalizing democracy. But, as a result, we resembles to us, the Turk has no other friends than the Turks, we are the most beautiful. The fastest we go, the quickest we return. (Laughs)
If we return to topic again; it has been debated at some point that Turkey has returned to its 90s, and later it has become worse than of 90s according to the widespread opinion. You wrote, like the other writers, that Turkey was dragged into a civil war. Do you think that Turkey is moving towards a civil war today?
I thought we were headed for the civil war, but I saw everyone very passive aggressive. Nobody wants to jeopardize own life. Everyone wants compromise and doesn’t want to take responsibility. Now I do not see the risk of civil war. It was a time I believed in the political conjuncture.
Now I think: Every move seemed like Spongebob. What happens if a sponge hits another sponge; the best chance is a few drops.
When I said that we were going to civil war, maybe we had an anticipation like this; The Kurds will fight. If you are not fighting why would the Kurds fight?
The Kurd is also worried about sending his child to a good school, eating kabab and and so on. They have also concern for the future of their lives and properties. I do not believe there will be civil war anymore. Who are you going to fight each other? The Alevis and the Sunnies? The Alevis do never fight in the same way. The Kurds will not fight either. For example, while Selahattin Demirtaş (the co-chair of Peoples’ Democratic Party, HDP) was being taken from his home, ten of his neighbors did not cause a noise. Did it?
In Sur, Cizre, Nusaybin and Yüksekova districts due to conflict and operations the Kurds suffered a lot from both loss of life and property damage. This has created a fear on people… The reason for their silence could be caused by the fact that they lived at that time…
Of course. Actually, I am saying the same thing. Why should we wait for all kinds of sacrifice from the Kurds? “Always Kurdish Mehmet in duty.”
We can not impute the democracy duty also to Kurdish Mehmet. I do not have the right to say why my neighbors did not go out for me if I did not go out on the street while Selahattin Demirtaş was taken into custody. Neither neighbors, neither did I. As a result, there wouldn’t be a civil war in such a country.
Taner Akçam stated in one of his writings that there is a possibility of carrying out a genocide to the Kurds today that a similar genocide was carried out to Armenians in the period of İttihat ve Terraki (Party of Union and Progress). Today, with the developments in the Middle East, if you consider the Kurdish problem that Turkey can not solve in itself, is there such a danger?
I think that the Afrin issue will only be used for gaining more votes in the elections, there won’t be a very serious operation. Erdoğan thinks that he needs a reason to gather people under the nationalism, I think the AKP base is not as much nationalist delusions as he thinks. Certainly they are not in a nationalist delusion.
What makes you think that?
Because religiosity is a very valuable identity for the AKP base. Religious unity is much more prevalent for them. As a result, the Kurds are Sunni and Muslim. I am sure that Erdoğan’s base is not an enemy of Kurdish as Erdoğan thinks.
Besides, I do not think there is another society in which Turks and Kurds are intertwined as much as in the Republic of Turkey. There is also a fact that; Kurds can not get into such a war because the Kurds are not separatist in Turkey!
A Kurdish structure that is not so separatist can not be in the world either. We can say that it is all the countries’ dream for the minorities, because they are not separatists indeed. They play drums ‘to give us our rights’, they pursue their very basic rights. Selahattin Demirtaş said this, “We are not separatists.”
It’s really a society so intertwined that I now believe it with all my heart; The Kurds in Turkey are not separatists and you can not make a civil war with them. Erdoğan exports the attacks abroad regularly as a showcase study.
By taking the data and the results of the referendum an early election and alliance debates have begun. Kılıçdaroğlu, recalling the referendum again, pointed out that democracy block should be built, then Bahçeli said that they go to election as the alliance with the AKP. Could an election process with alliances lead to a ‘conflict’ process? What may be the result in such an election? And what role does the İYİ Party have in this election?
It is ridiculous that Bahçeli says we are in an alliance, because there is no Bahçeli and MHP anymore. I see MHP as the side road of AKP in the field of Turkism. Why he so concentrated for 2019? In a very, very strange way, he brought his own presidential system, which was practically exclusive, almost freaky.
Devlet Bahçeli is also the initiator of this. He plays it when he was said ‘play son.’ He is locked on presidential system. What will happen if the CHP, the İYİ Party come and nominate a candidate like Ekmelettin İhsanoglu when there is a leader who is himself a thug, a Kemalist if necessary, and a Tayyip Erdoğan who can take any different shape. It will be a rout again.
I am so desperate for the CHP that who knows how to find a candidate. Ekmelettin İhsanoglu, when we thought it was a disappointment, missing Presidency of the Parliament with Deniz Baykal’s involvement was desperately.
I think we are being watched by the other countries in astonishment. The question is always asked; will not there be an opposition movement? Tayyip Erdoğan’s greatest fortune is his lack of opposition. I can not see an opposing movement on the horizon.
On the other hand, HDP had a Unity Movement for Democracy, also a signature campaign was organized in the title of ‘we are hand in hand, we are together’, may a new opposition movement or a ‘democracy block’ be formed from the people who gather here?
It cannot happen. Because in all the Kurdish-related things, the CHP treats with so much Kemalist reflex, allergic reaction, and it does not intend to change the Kurdish allergy at all. The Turkish nationalist base that Tayyip Erdoğan set up his show and the Turkish nationalist base that CHP set up its own show, if both sides release the Turkish nationalist bases Meral Akşener and Devlet Bahçeli share between each other.
I wonder why you are ruining your whole life for this 10 percent slice. Here the common brand of İttihatçılık comes in. In fact, they are ruining to be nationalists, the Turks do not really have that much nationalism. ‘
But vote is given for that?
To whom?
To AKP.
Indeed, the base is not nationalist, the reason of voting is not because of it, the base has already adopted the leader so it is going to vote anyway. It’s the guarante votes that will be given anyway. This is 35 percent at the utmost.
He needs to address more rational right wing to increase the number. With such nationalist delusions, those rational rightists are also getting discouraged. These are my opinions, of course, I am not going to prescribe to the AKP. What the hell are they doing, they can. However, as a result, the CHP can not be an opposition movement unless it has given up this Kurdish allergy and walked into an Edirne. (Edirne is the city where HDP co-chair Demirtaş is imprisoned.)
I also want to talk about Osman Kavala, who was recently arrested. Taner Akçam said about this arrest that “This is the official declaration of the AKP alliance with Ergenekon. Ergenekon, to our Armenian neighborhood, comes to our corner,” he wrote. How do you evaluate Osman Kavala’s arrest? Do you also agree with Akçam’s initial interpretation of a repressive movement towards Armenians?
Soli Özel wrote I guess, he likened TÜSİAD’s silence for Osman Kavala’s arrest to ‘silence of the lambs.’ I paid great attention to the article by Akçam in Ahval. Indeed, the article can be read as the circle is narrowing.
Nobody’s voice is coming out again. I did not hear too much on the international field, I never expected that. The European Union is a very disloyal friend. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), for example in the decision of the Peace Academicians, ‘You have your own OHAL (emergency) commission, go there,’ they said.
Here we realized that; the main reason of all the relations in the European Union is money. The European Union also needs to account for. Indeed, if EU hadn’t kept us so busy at its door and then kicked us out, maybe we wouldn’t have gone into such a dark period. I can not do without thinking like that. And what was the importance of our group; We were opposed to military domination, recognize the Armenian Genocide.
“We are opposed to the military domination and we want a new constitution, recognize the Armenian Genocide, we want a solution to the Kurdish problem.” You were expressing these four articles.
Bravo. You reduced in four points and summarized it very well. That’s it. Now it doesn’t matter what we said. Everything we said is being misunderstood and used as evidence against us; so is the Armenian issue. Again we come to İttihatçılık.
If the biggest brand is united under the İttihatçılık flag, the Armenian issue for them is a matter which should not be confronted. Therefore, the people who possess the Armenian issue and who walk in the funeral of Hrant Dink have no importance.
As a reault, they were the people who voted for HDP and the chairperson of HDP are already in prison. Now, of course, there is a fact; the rest of the Osman Kavala move may come. The writing of Taner Akçam is really very important.
Like what? May an operation be carried out to Agos (Armenian newspaper)?
I do not know if they may go so far. 200-300 hundred thousand people walked in Hrant Dink funeral, and now there is no sound.
What could be behind this silence?
In fact, the voice of the people has been so terribly turned down in Gezi Park events. The mass who was walking on the back of Hrant Dink was the same crowd. And very strangely, Osman Kavala is accused of being the organizer of the Gezi Protests. It’s a very ridiculous blame. The Gezi Protests were the breaking point. Thanks to Gezi Park events we could see the real face of AKP and Tayyip Erdoğan.
At that stage Tayyip Erdoğan took out his democrat mask and showed us his real face. Everything actually started with Gezi. The Gezi could turn into a political movement. A political party could have come out. I was very hopeful that the Gezi Protests turned into a political party, but it did not.
In fact, we are always talking about a mass and the emergence of these masses with a reaction. From the mass walking in Hrant Dink’s funeral up to Gezi Protests. Well, what could be the reason that there is no political party emerged from here?
How many people were killed during the Gezi Protests? Berkin Elvan and how many more bodies there are from the Gezi Protests. This is very discouraging, very annoying. There were a lot of people like us who fell apart.
If the Gezi is the first, than the second is; the HDP, which received 18 per cent of the votes in June 7, 2015 elections, was first ignored in the election with the Ankara Gar massacre. All of this is really serious stuff, because it actually progresses by intending to kill you. Or it says: I kill you if you make a noise. It was a very powerful message.
Which columnists are you reading the most these days?
Hasan Cemal is doing an incredible work right now. He writes the most radical writings. 15 minutes after Ahmet Altan’s trial his writing coming out. He is very boldly writing all his thoughts and feelings without fear. In a way I don’t do it, wonderfully he expresses his feelings. Thanks a lot and live long!
I like the writings of Nilgün Cerrahoğlu from the Cumhuriyet newspaper, and I like Fehim Taştekin very much. I am completely reading foreign policy. I am totally depended on foreign policy. Before I did not read foreign policy in my lifetime.
Why have you tied your hopes so much to foreign policy?
For example, I had very independent Kurdistan hopes but as a result I have returned the fallen watermelon from the donkey. It is so pathetic whatever I tied my hopes it never happens. (Laughs)
I was chasing after it. You like Barzani or not, but I was incredibly hopeful independent Kurdistan to be established, but again disappointment.
I realized that that was a holding and the partner of the holding with the logic of “I will not be the chairman of this holding, I won’t let you into the capital market.” I cant believe. Talabani shot Barzani officially from his leg. Likewise, the HDP, which received 13,5 percent of the votes, also shot the Kandil leg with ditch wars. It’s very pathetic. I linked my hopes to geopolitics.
Who’s the author you miss the most?
Ahmet Altan of course. On the one hand I actually miss a lot of writers. I miss Mine Kırıkkanat, who is an old elitist, ultra Kemalist, who takes care of his writings.
In the past, there was a style, a flavor. Now there is none. Everyone now writes in the style of ‘there is a well in the middle, cross through the edge.’
In the past, when I wrote in Radikal daily, there was such a great diversity that there was a quality of writing. Now, for example, I read the newspapers I have never read before. I did not know that those old writers were such bad columnists that I did not read them in the past. They can not write.
What do you expect from Turkey in the short and long terms? In your opinion, may the problems of today be a matter of jurisdiction one day?
Hasan Cemal writes, “One day everyone will account for, don’t be demoralized” in a full of hope. One day, I no longer have any hope that if they’re going to be judged.
I’m so desperate to believe that. Because dictatorships are very long lasting. How many years did Franco rule Spain? I don’t care their judgement, one day, I wish I could see that the people in prison are out. I’d better hope for something in the near plan.
