A message of justice from Istanbul to the world

As I mentioned in my last column, the Istanbul Global Forum's meeting on justice took place at the Istanbul Congress Center with heavy participation and as the result of meticulous work in every respect. At the meeting, which came about through the extremely meticulous and careful work of the Prime Ministry's Public Diplomacy office and the SETA Foundation, justice was discussed in the contexts of the global order and international law, art, history, religion, freedom, Eurocentrism, Africa, the Arab Awakening, Syria and Turkey. All these themes in fact amount to questioning the present world in all its dimensions.

Again, as I said before, justice is in fact the most important point of departure for those who have something to say about the world. It is a fact that during its ten-plus years in power, the AK Parti has stood out more with its development dimension.

Still, it would be a great injustice to say that it has neglected the field of justice. Economic growth and development are not, of course, merely growth and development; how they are achieved and what kind of consequences they have in terms of socio-economic justice are also important. The parallel development of social state practices along Turkey's own distinctive path of economic development is almost one of the features of the Turkish model. For that reason, economic development brings the possibility of social justice closer rather than moving it further away. The rise in national income, the rise in the level of welfare and the fact that far more people have come to benefit from it, its reflections in the fields of health, education and housing, or the rise in living standards, also express at the same time the performance in the field of economic justice.

Discourses that recall justice and call for justice are in fact discourses peculiar to the opposition. That a party in power emphasizes justice is, I suppose, again an expression of Turkey's still distinctive line. In this, the fact that the AK Parti was in opposition when it was founded, and also that during its time in power it has actually played the role of opposition against the tutelary status quo, has a significant share.

Perhaps until the 12 September of 2010 the AK Parti was obliged to go on opposing the legitimate deep power. It did not shy away from this obligation. It named the Kurdish problem through this opposition to the deep power and changed the paradigm of the system. Even if there is still much to be done today, from this point on everything that will be done in the field of the Kurdish problem should be regarded as detail compared with what has been done. Once the paradigm based on denial and ignoring has changed, all that remains is to discuss.

Meanwhile, unsolved murders, coups, and all the economic and political corruption these coups covered up were also under the protection of a secret power known to everyone, and these too were fought with an oppositional discourse.

During this time, it strongly filled in the claim to justice through its struggles and reforms in the judiciary, on the constitution and against the deep tutelary elements.

In the name of justice there is undoubtedly always more to be done. Developing an awareness of this is in itself an important task. Yet the subject of justice is not discussed enough. The things done are not being made sense of in terms of the concept or value of justice.

On the other hand, the AK Parti, which is now literally in power in its own country, bringing justice, as an oppositional discourse, from Istanbul onto the agenda of the whole world carries a quite different meaning. Today there is an opposition against the corrupt order of the world, led by Turkey.

Because of this effort, certain familiar people will again criticize Turkey with the accusation of an axis shift, for being too involved with the subaltern world instead of making efforts to stand on the side of the developed world. We would be surprised if they did not. But it is now a destined and historical responsibility for Turkey to lead that world.

A Eurocentric structuring of the world is not just and produces very cruel outcomes. Against this, the world must be decentralized.

In the name of world history, people everywhere in the world are again forced to read the history of Europe. The Eurocentric history of the world is not a just history; this history needs to be rewritten.

That the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council hold the veto privilege is also not just at all, and when many massacres, cruelties and injustices in the world coincide with the interest of one of these five, there is no way at all to remedy this injustice. This leads to situations that are not just at all. One must object to this strongly.

Moreover, all the resources of the world are being exploited by that West, which is regarded as the center of the world, and the natural resources of the earth are being devastated by that "first world." This injustice too must be brought to a halt. All these subjects are only a few of those addressed under the heading of justice at the Istanbul Global Forum.

While the meeting in Istanbul, attended by extremely distinguished intellectuals and politicians from all over the world, took place like a veritable feast of ideas, it was also demonstrated how fertile and how rich in implications a concept the discourse of justice is. I hope that justice will be dwelt on more from now on..

While we are at it, let us announce that the main theme of the third Arab-Turkish Social Sciences Congress, which we will hold next year (in April) as Cairo University and the Institute for Strategic Thinking, has also been determined in advance as Justice.

The World Global Forum is a very auspicious initiative. An initiative similar to, and equivalent to, the Davos meetings. I would like to convey my thanks and congratulations to the Prime Ministry's Public Diplomacy Coordination Office and the SETA Foundation for carrying out this fine organization with their heads held high.