On his recent visit to Turkey, the philosopher Slavoj Žižek praised the country and suggested that it could taken as a model by the Arab world. Here, one of Turkey’s leading commentators responds. (NB: We have linked to Turkish-language sources where none are available in English)
Dear Mr Žižek,
As an attentive follower of your work, I feel obliged to write to you after hearing your comments on Turkey. I share your admiration for my country, which I think made you say “if the Arab world really needs a model, Turkey can be taken as a model”. Yet I can not help but repeat the sentence with which I concluded my contribution to The Doha Debates on 12 January: “Turkey can not be a model for the Arab World because it has enough problems already.”
One of the distasteful things about authoritarian regimes — as you might already know very well — is that they turn writers into imbeciles by forcing us to repeat the obvious over and over again. Such as: “Journalists should not be jailed”; “It is cruel to put Kurdish minors in jail”; “Teargas shouldn’t be used excessively, especially to a degree that causes death”; “Students holding a banner for free education shouldn’t be put in jail for years “; “There should be no punishment without law”; etc etc.
I have experienced an intimidating decrease in my own IQ lately, due to repeating the fact that Turkey is turning into a state of fear. Turkey’s good people are already exhausted from running from one courtroom to another following political cases that could even inspire Kafka to revise his oeuvre.
That is why my dear friend, the journalist Ahmet Şık, when defending himself against a ridiculous indictment, quoted Roland Barthes saying: “Fascism does not only silence people but also forces them to speak.” With another 103 journalists Ahmet has been jailed for about a year without any verdict. I invite you to admire the latest judiciary fashion of the season in Turkey: blurry accusations, no solid evidence but months or even years of detention. With more than 9,000 applications filed against it at the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) in 2011, Turkey is the worst offender when it comes to freedom of speech.
If those figures are not enough, you should know that a few days ago Ahmet’s lawyer, during his defense statement, told the judges that prosecutors have been threatening him, arguing that his defense statement could result in prosecution under anti-terror laws. I think you would agree with me on his right to be alarmed, given that there are 40 lawyers in detention under that very anti-terror — thus anti-democratic — law.
I already know that you have no faith in Europe anymore so these figures might not interest you. Though I’ve heard that you are still inspired by Tahrir Square’s call for freedom. I think our mutual friends in Egypt, Tunisia or Syria deserve better than our life in Turkey. Having lived in Beirut for a year, and covered the Tahrir stories and currently being based in Tunisia, I think that Turkey might even be inspired by some of those countries’ appreciation for human life.
Because my compatriots who burn themselves to death have never been as legendary as Mouhammed Bouazizi of Tunisia. On 22 June 2010, the 20-year-old Erkan Gümüştaş set himself alight to protest the living conditions in prison. I am quite sure that only a few know his name in Turkey. His death hardly made it into the Turkish Human Rights Association reports, let alone setting the media ablaze.
Our police forces are no less merciless than the SCAF in Egypt. Metin Lokumcu, a teacher, died of a heart attack caused by the excessive use of tear gas during an assault on an anti-government protest on 31 May 2011. His friends were arrested under the anti-terrorism law when they wanted to protest against the violent crackdown on protesters.
The Kurdish children who, in order to earn some money, had to smuggle cigarettes across the mountainous border with Iraq, have been no luckier than the young Syrian casualties. Their pictures didn’t make it to the news when nine of them were killed after an “operation accident” in Uludere. The government decided to hush up the incident, and our prime minister stated that those who criticise the event are unfair towards the government. In the end, maybe Turkey simply has more shiny window dressing and better marks from the IMF for its economic adjustments.
The last thing I want is to be one of those writers who have nothing to say about their countries except exposing the sins that are committed there. It is not only unfair to my country but also deeply hurtful for myself. Especially when you are doing it in another language, it bruises your emotional ties to your beloved country. I am sure you know what I mean. But it also hurts to see that you are serving the goals of an international marketing project by saying “Turkey can be a model for the Arab world”. We, as people of Turkey, deserve better. As do the Arabs.
Yours,
Ece Temelkuran
PS: I would very much like to introduce you to my arrested journalist friend Ahmet one day. He is certainly much more witty than me. Somehow a year in prison has increased his capacity to mock our tragedies, beginning with his own.
Ece Temelkuran is a Turkish journalist and political commentator, who has written for the Guardian and New Left Review. Follow her on Twitter @ETemelkuran
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