Turkey will suffer from normalization pains just a while longer. Issues stemming from Kemalism will continue to plague our daily lives until the articles that regulate state-religion, military-civilian and state-citizen relations in the Constitution are amended.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the military was only restoring democracy in Egypt, but we don’t know who is the client, employer or the subcontractor in this restoration job. If it is Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s job to restore democracy, then what is Burns doing in Cairo? If it is Mohamed ElBaradei who will bring “peace” to Egypt, then what keeps Ashton in Egypt?

The media sector’s relationship with the government is not the only problem it faces today. The media establishment, media bosses and journalists are shaped by their ideological tendencies, as well as the governments’ positions.

Judging from the scene revealed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the paradigm has bankrupted and the transition to a new order has already begun since the world of friends and enemies who stood by the tutelage regime for years is totally confused now.

With the occupation in Iraq, the primitive Middle Eastern eco-system, and with the Arab revolts, the Camp David order collapsed. The new regional order is being rapidly shaped by the new actors at the cost of the century-old status quo.

The messages coming from the Imrali during the solution process reflect the efforts for creating a new conceptual frame to settle in the legitimate-center.

In addition to a big plus in the diplomatic success column of Turkey, for the sake of being realistic however, the structural issues such as the Turkish-Israeli conflict over the regional vision and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, etc. should be taken into consideration.

During the Feb.28 post-modern coup process, the judiciary was pressured via briefings. Prosecutors and judges who did not rule as they were asked from them were relegated.

Trade relations between Turkey and Russia indicate that divergence between these two countries regarding the resolution of the Syrian crisis has not deeply influenced the relations between the two.

We can assess where exactly Egypt falls on the “revolution” and “change” spectrum by tracing the “times” of Egypt post-Mubarak through the lenses of the Turkish political “calendar.

Turkey must discuss and conclude the issue of specially authorized courts independently of judges and those who stand trial in order to strengthen the constitutional state, to pave the way for the judiciary to deliver justice and to prevent the judiciary from contributing to injustices.

Pre-new constitution period is an appropriate time to discuss the disadvantages of the current political system and to pursue the quest for a new political system.

The final leg of support for the Syrian Ba’ath regime’s geopolitical comfort zone was the political climate generated by the other dictatorships in the area.

Reforming Turkey’s education system symbolizes not only an end to weak civilian institutions but also represents an opportunity to bridge the gap between secularists and conservatives in the country.

When the AK Party came to power in 2002, the people were finally able to say “stop” to the gang that took the state hostage during the 1990s.

Turkey has refreshed its social and historical memory of each and every country that experienced change and revolution.

 SETA PANEL DISCUSSION  Chair:     Taha Özhan, SETA    Panelists:     Ali Çarkoğlu, Sabancı Univ.       Cengiz Çandar, Radikal     Yavuz Baydar, Sabah  Date: June 15, 2011 Wednesday  Time: 14.00-16.00  Venue: SETA, Ankara