Gul calls for enhanced democracy to solve Turkley's problems

President Abdullah Gul yesterday addressed an audience of Cabinet members, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with political party leaders, deputies and top commanders gathered in Parliament to mark the beginning of the new legislative year. In an apparent show of support for government efforts to raise Turkey's democratic standards and settle such longstanding problems as the so-called Kurdish question or southeastern Anatolia issue through peaceful methods, Gul told Parliament that there was no need to fear diversity, as the process of respecting differences would serve to strengthen the nation. "Today, while protecting the basic characteristics and unitary structure of our state, we're going through a process of deliberation that aims to improve the relationship between the state and diverse ethnic, religious and cultural groups," he said. "This process will serve to strengthen our awareness of being a nation. The raison d'etre for the state is to meet the democratic aspirations and expectations of our nation in a satisfactory manner." Gul welcomed recent discussions and efforts to find solutions to societal problems, as they are aimed at developing the nation's democratic pluralistic mentality, but complained that the vast majority of the problems that Turkey is discussing today are due in large part to inadequate democratic practices. Stating that democracy is an indispensable characteristic of the Republic of Turkey as reflected by Parliament, Gul said that a democratic state should see social and cultural differences as rich resources and accept them instead of trying to eliminate them. "A modern state should manage to keep the same distance from worldviews and political ideologies in order to protect social and political diversity," he said, adding that boosting democratic standards would solve Turkey's problems. Gul also warned that nobody should see such differences as an excuse to create "new island nations" within society. "Such an understanding may harm the social consensus," he said. Stressing that Turkey should solve its problems on its own, Gul said, "States that cannot solve their problems of their own initiative are subject to outside exploitation of those problems." During his speech, Gul placed great emphasis on respect for the rule of law, calling for the continuation of reforms, particularly judicial ones, aimed at bringing Turkish courts to the highest modern standards. "Judicial reform is essential for achieving a stronger and more developed judicial system, thereby assuring a better functioning state system," he stressed. Gul referred to Turkey's European Union accession bid as a state policy on which political parties and governments concur, calling for the determined continuation of efforts to this end. Gul also expressed hope that Turkey will be seen as the guarantor of stability and peace in its region, free of any problems with its neighbors. Among the signs of Turkey's self-confidence that are becoming more visible on the international stage, Gul said, are its now being seen as the guarantor of trust, stability and peace in its region and the world.