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A test for the West in Turkey - -

By Anwar Ibrahim

A Test for The West In Turkey

By Anwar Ibrahim
Friday, July 6, 2007

This month's elections in Turkey have been described as a battle for the soul of the nation. But far from being a battle between secularism and Islam, as some would have us believe, this is really a conflict between the forces of freedom and democracy on the one hand and authoritarianism on the other.

The outcome will decide whether Turkey continues down the modernizing path it was set on some five years ago by the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party or backtracks onto the path where might is right and power is achieved through the barrel of a gun. Will there be a resolution to forge a new consensus between state and citizen that is at ease with Turkey's Muslim heritage and its secular political culture, or will the forces of the military usurp the people's right to choose their government and undermine the government's mandate to serve the people?



    
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