The rectors have also failed us

Now it’s up to the AK Party to decide what to do. They might lose the hundreds of thousands of votes given to them for being moderates if they do the wrong thing.

There is also the flip side of the coin.

Unfortunately, the behavior of our university rectors left a lot to be desired.

The public learned how the leading names were divided and how they tried to trick each other. The perception of the Turkish public was how the professors tried to make deals behind each other’s backs and how they tried to damage each other’s standing.

Individuals involved in higher education lost the respect of the public.

We’ll see what happens next.

While the AK Party needs to make a soft turn in order to rid itself from the issue of imam-hatips, the rectors need to re-appraise their attitudes.

We need to get used to this criticism
The European Union ambassador to Turkey, Hans Jorg Kretschmer, when asked about the Office of the Chief of General Staff’s statement on the YOK bill, said according to EU norms it wasn’t normal for the military to involve itself in domestic politics, which had attracted wide-ranging criticism from some of the media and the Foreign Ministry.

Who is he to interfere in our domestic matters? How can he criticize our Office of the Chief of General Staff?

I couldn’t understand why we got so angry.

The guy didn’t insult anyone; he just answered a question truthfully. According to EU norms, he explained that the military cannot release statements about domestic affairs.

What should he have said?

What would have happened if he had said, "We understand the sensitivity of the Turkish military’s sensitivity about secularism, but according to EU norms, it would have been better for it not to have said anything about the matter." Would we have been happier?

EU officials will criticize us and we will criticize them back. That’s how the world turns.

The same Amnesty International we criticize is now attacking the US
You will remember we constantly criticized Amnesty International during the ’80s and ’90s. The reason was that the organization objected to human rights violations in the country, especially in the Southeast, and criticized Turkish governments in its reports.

We cannot describe Amnesty International as a "separatist force." I wonder what those people who criticized the organization as pro-Kurdish or communist are saying now?

Everyone now knows that a large portion of what is written in Amnesty International reports reflects the truth. We ourselves changed the laws and regulations this organization had criticized.

This organization, which we accused of being one-sided, is now crucifying the United States. It is condemning Washington for the torture in Iraq and other crimes.

This should be a lesson.

We should not act defensively and try to wage counter-arguments when someone criticizes us. Let’s ask ourselves what mistakes we are making.

Let’s never forget that today’s truths will change in the future and that taboos will be conquered.

Land mafia should be reined in
Parliament’s sub-Commission on the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) took a very important step. An article included in the TCK addressed a continuing social problem.

In accordance with the article, those who construct buildings without a permit will be sentenced to between two to five years’ imprisonment. Public servants who connect water, electric or phone lines to shanty houses will also face prison terms.

The construction of shanty houses, or unregistered buildings, has not been able to be stopped until now due to the attitude of state institutions and municipal governments. Mafia or ordinary people used to build houses wherever they wanted, and the municipality would introduce public services after a certain time. Roads would be built. Electricity, telephone and water would be connected. After all this, it was hardly appropriate to tear them down and if anyone tried, violent clashes ensued.

Our only hope is to impose strong penalties in addition to imprisonment and the Parliament General Assembly not narrowing it down.

Our eyes will be on those deputies who will try to impose limits on the penalties.