You label the current Turkish government as arrogant and stupid “secular fundamentalists” sponsored by the military (Editorial, Sept. 4). Why such vitriol? Is it stupid and arrogant to require minimum public education through the 8th grade, rather than only the 5th, as has been true heretofore in Turkey?
Is it secular fundamentalism to seek to shut down dozens if not hundreds of uncertified “Koran schools” set up illegally by Muslim militants throughout Turkey?
You imply that Turkey is a military dictatorship. You should have made clear that it is a parliamentary democracy in which no government survives without majority support in the freely elected parliament. The previous government rested on a sleazy deal between Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, in which the Islamists agreed not to press a parliamentary investigation of corruption charges against the deputy prime minister.
This shaky coalition managed to survive for a year while the Islamists systematically tried to dismantle the secular structure of the state and society, which has been firmly in place since the 1920s. Erbakan flitted around the world, hobnobbing with Iranian ayatollahs and President Moammar Gadhafi of Libya. This was hardly what the majority of Turkish voters wanted, nor was it in America’s interest.
That the military was upset with this foolish and dangerous policy should not overshadow the truth that it was only when the parliament voted no confidence in the coalition government that it was forced to step down.
It is surprising that the Tribune should engage in unbridled and extreme rhetoric when speaking of a friendly country that merits understanding and support. Turkey has few enough defenders among the American public, but it is neither fair nor politically smart to kick the Turks.
