Dilek Guven

Dink was an Armenian who paid with his life for his determination to stay in his homeland Turkey and strive to better the country. His murder reminds us of the barbarity of the 1950s and 1960s that drove the Greek minority out. Do you believe that nowadays there is more hope for acknowledging the cosmopolitan character of Turkey, and Istanbul in particular? Will it be possible for Turks, Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians and Jews to coexist in terms of genuine equality? I think nowadays a democratic coexistence is very difficult, because still the government hasn’t produced any solutions or projects especially for the Kurdish minority. There are no proposals, no projects and no reforms to facilitate such coexistence. And there are already huge numbers of Kurdish migrants in every big town. Also, the Kurdish minority in Iraq will directly influence the politics of Turkey. I think difficult times await us. We will have two elections this year, so perhaps the government will come in with new reforms. But unfortunately we see the real power is still in the hand of the «deep state,» consisting of the military, secret agencies, the state close to Kemalist organizations and the judiciary. So such democratic pluralistic reforms depend on the power struggles between the government and the deep state. There is much lip service paid to Istanbul’s cosmopolitan past. Hrant Dink had complained in a conference that «they treat us, the minorities, like antiques. They don’t want us to disappear, because we are like museum objects now. But they don’t want us to speak up or be too evident either.» How sincere are those nostalgic evocations of a multinational metropolis and how much is the general public ready to tolerate the minorities – their different religions, languages, customs and history? Unfortunately the goal after the military coup in 1980 was to create a neo-nationalist/Islamic society. And they managed it. So today we have a very conservative and intolerant society that is against minorities. It will take a long time to change that. Do you think Dink’s murder will scare the liberal intelligentsia of Turkey, or do you think it will make them more determined to speak up for changing the country and opening up Turkish society? Do you think they will follow your example and focus on the mass demonstrations, gaining strength, or will they be discouraged because of the constant threats from the forces of darkness? I think today we have people who are scared and who have left the country already. We have people who are just frustrated and who are also leaving. But there are people also who want to work much more toward a tolerant and pluralistic society. And also a lot of people are waiting for the elections this year. But I think large numbers of the intelligentsia are disappointed and think that things will never change in this country. What scares me is the huge number of uneducated people, who are not able to think critically. What is your dream for Turkey in the future? Who do you think is hampering the country’s progress? My dream is for more courageous public prosecutors who will also accuse those who express nationalist statements, more courageous governments who are not subjugated by the deep state. A true opposition party would be great and a reformed education system based on pluralist and democratic principles. This would be a truly democratic Turkey.