The School of Politics, organized this year for its 10th time by the School of Government Leadership (HLO), has started.
The first session of the first week, in order to assess thesubject“Local Governments and Women,” was held with the participation of the President of KA.DER, Çiğdem Aydın. Due tothe low number of woman in politics and their low effectiveness, she began her speech by drawing attention to the “Forgetting Woman Candidates” campaign.She stressed that since the inception of local elections, 1165 mayors have been elected, but only six of them have been women. She said that around the world there is more women’s participation in local governments, whilethe opposite situation appears in Turkey and fewer place are given to women at the local level. Currently, for CHP, of its 47 provincial nominees, six are women, for AKP, of its 81 provincial nominees, one is a woman, and for BDP, of its two provincial nominees and six co-chairs there are no women candidates. Finally, she stated that KA.DER does not want town management without women. She completed her speech by saying “Come on women take a part in the local government!”
In the second session, the Republic of Turkey’s Ankara deputy, Vice-President of the Nationalist Movement Party, Tuğrul Türkeş evaluated the issues “Democracy and Politics in Turkey and the World in the 21st Century; how it should be nowadays? In fact, how it should be?”Türkeş, indicating that in the power struggle taking place throughout the existence of humanity, in every century, a particular sovereign power is trying to manageby shaping the world. He said that with the Soviet Union’s breakup, rather than the world community changing from one to multi-polar, now it enters into a process of change that gives importance to individual opinions, desires and lifestyles. The ideal of Turkey’s needs on the level of contemporary civilization can be realized if and only if we train new generations to be aware of the value of the society they come from, thus nationalism. He added that with Turkey’s nationalist policies targeted, Turkey could reach the place it should be in world politics.
The third session of “Media and Political Relations,”the issue was evaluated with the participation of the Istanbul Deputy of the Turkish Republic, and member of the Foreign Affairs Commission (TBMM) OktayEkşi. He said that he started his professional career in 1952 and later had been a parliamentary reporter. He noted that if a newspaper manager and a political leader as close friends somehow contradicted in terms of their interests they would not have been friends anymore back then. He stressed that until the 1980s the press served the ruling elite and the journalist who are against them were arrested and sentenced to prison. However, even at that time, he drew attention to the honest ruling-journalist relationship that cannot be compared to nowadays.
The Istanbul Deputy of the Turkish Republic and the TBMM Head of the Parliamentary Constitutional Commission, Prof. Dr. Burhan Kuzu evaluated the “Separation of Powers Problems and Solutions in Turkey” during the fourth session. He stated that the issue of the separation of powers is actual and that it is easy to explain, but difficult to apply in Turkey. In Turkey, the separation of powers began with Abdülhamit II and was interrupted during Atatürk’s period; but then it continued from where it left off. He stressed that for Atatürk parliament is the only judiciary, legislative and executive power. He said that the aim is to make a strong leader to lead the parliament. The solution of politics is transparent elections; but added that errors in judgment have no solution. Kuzu, referring to the developed western countries judiciary issues, said the direct determination of the judiciary by the public would not be possible in Turkey.
In the last session, the founder of the Greens and the Left Party, Turkish Republic former Deputy, Dr. UfukUras, discussed the issue“New Approaches in Politics.” The word “Politics,” in old Turkish, comes from “sice,” in another meaning, directing the living that should be directed; but stated that this point of view is not right. Uras: “the goal of politics should be to suit what is on the paper to the reality”. He stressed that it will be meaningful that all layers of society self-expressed directly and indirectly with politics. He stated that a democratic state can be reached via everyone having opportunity to have their say. He finished speaking by saying that if there is no arbiter to shape the game’s rules, we will only be a part of the game.
TR
