[Hurriyet Daily News] Nonetheless the basic problem is neither the clash of personalities or absence of it, nor the autocratic personality of the president, but rather a bigger issue of the political understanding of the president and his governing party. The opinion leaders of the governing party, or perhaps we should call it “governing ideology,” express what they mean of “politics” more clearly nowadays. Their politics is defined by “Islamic democracy,” and a “powerful Turkey as the leader of umma” and ruling out anything which may be an obstacle in their way as a legitimate “struggle of the great cause, whose leader is Erdoğan.” So much so that even the governing party members and supporters who have been in favor of a coalition government are despised as “Trojan horses.” Under the circumstances, they do not engage in any genuine political game but just fake it. Finally, there are no politics in Turkey anymore but pursuing a grand project by faking politics.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet Daily News] Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appeared before the cameras on Aug. 17 to say that the formation of a coalition government between his Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) and Devlet Bahceli's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) was not possible. The announcement came after a meeting of two-and-a-half hours.
Davutoglu had made a similar announcement last week after meeting with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP). He had earlier stated that he would not consider any partnership with the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
Under normal circumstances, (ie. according to the constitution and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's political traditions), Davutoglu is now supposed to return the mandate to form a government to President Tayyip Erdogan, so the latter can - and should - give the mandate to the second largest party group leader in parliament, which in this case is the CHP's Kilicdaroglu. Then, at the end of the 45-day constitutional deadline (Aug. 23), the president would have the power to call for a rerun of the June 7 election, which saw the AK Parti lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in 13 years.
Not that there is any viable combination is sight, but since last week the CHP has been calling on Davutoglu to return the mandate to Erdogan, and for Erdogan to hand it onto Kilicdaroglu for the sake of democratic principles.
Yesterday, a news hound asked Davutoglu whether he would return the mandate now, after he said that it was now up to the president to decide whether or not to go for another election, according to Article 116 of the constitution. No, Davutoglu said, he was not going to give back the mandate now. On Aug. 18 (today), a ceremony was due where the retiring chief of general staff was set to hand over the office to his successor; the next day Davutoglu was due to chair the executive committee meeting of his party; and then he would consult the president and "take steps according to those consultations, returning the mandate if necessary."
That could be vaguely interpreted as Davutoglu forcing Erdogan to use his powers, instead of undertaking the almost impossible mission of winning an early election decision from parliament.
But if it is considered that the final deadline expires on Sunday, that practically means Erdogan will be allowing Davutoglu to have used the entire 45-day period to ultimately say no coalition is possible. It would be like a joke to give the mandate to Kilicdaroglu for just the last one or two days.
The president has already used every opportunity he has - and created opportunities if there weren't any - to extend the AK Parti's time in actual power, despite the party losing its parliamentary majority. Only in that way is it possible for him to exercise extended executive powers, as if Turkey has shifted from the current parliamentary system to the strong presidential one that Erdogan wants. He said on Aug. 14 that because he was elected by the people last year, there was already a de facto change in the administrative system in Turkey and all he needs now is a new constitution. This statement came despite the fact he has no parliamentary power to do that and despite the fact that no polls are hinting that he will be able to achieve it in a new parliamentary formation.
Before June 7, opposition parties raised worries about the seizure of votes or ballot boxes in certain areas. Those worries proved largely void, but nobody expected the seizure of an entire election by simply ignoring the outcome.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] THE liquidation of Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... home minister Shuja Khanzada in a suicide kaboom in Attock is a grim reminder that, recent successes notwithstanding, the war against militancy will be a very long war along the length and breadth of the country and against multiple enemies. Mr Khanzada's death is surely a blow to the counterterrorism efforts of the Punjab government. By most accounts, the home minister was an adroit and capable leader and had chalked up a number of successes against murderous Moslem groups. It is in the nature of counterterrorism work and policing that the biggest successes are often unknown to the public because success is measured by the absence of violence. Inevitably, there will be questions about how a senior minister, and a frontline figure in the fight against militancy, was left so vulnerable.
As reported in a section of the media, Mr Khanzada's security was nowhere near as tight nor along the lines of what standard procedure demanded. It appears that perhaps Mr Khanzada himself preferred to visit his hometown to meet with constituents without onerous security. Therein lies the problem of weak systems and institutions. In a more evolved system, the security of public officials would be determined independently of the individuals who are to be protected; such decisions would be made by professionals and would be final. Culturally, however, the deference offered to superiors and powerful individuals means professional opinion is sometimes overridden. It remains to be seen if that is indeed what happened with Mr Khanzada, leaving him -- and others -- open to a devastating attack. Standard operating procedure should be revisited in any case because the state has lost a capable leader and many families have lost their relatives. Fighting the war against militancy is a constant reminder that while the defenders have to fail just once, the enemy has to succeed only once.
Beyond the immediate tragedy, there is the issue of how widespread militancy has become and how far the reach of forces of Evil is. In the Attock attack, there is confirmation of what independent observers have long warned: the myth of south Punjab being the sole hotbed of militancy in the province needs to be laid to rest. Urban Punjab, central and northern Punjab, indeed areas in other provinces not usually associated with militancy, have all become zones in which the forces of Evil are able to hide and operate. To root out those elements, it will take much more than raids and so-called intelligence-based operations. The state is still not any closer to understanding why militancy continues to attract new converts. Simply capturing or killing generations of forces of Evil is not enough. The emphasis needs to switch to ensuring there is no next generation being indoctrinated. That alone would do justice to the legacy of Shuja Khanzada and the countless others who have died over the past decade.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/18/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Theemphasis needs to switch to ensuring there is no next generation being indoctrinated.
How many madrasahs are there in Paki-land?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/18/2015 12:52 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
