Yes, we Cem

The election of Turkish-German politician Cem Özdemir to the co-leadership of the German Green Party should be great news for both democrats in Turkey and reasonable Europeans. An article in Today's Zaman.

By Ihsan Yilmaz

"Yes, We Cem" was his election slogan, emulating Obama's "Change. Yes, We Can." The word "cem" literally means to collect under the same roof or umbrella, and I believe Cem Özdemir will be a much-needed and awaited symbol uniting people who sincerely believe in peaceful coexistence in Europe and around the globe. Turkey aspires to be a member of the European Union, and it also endeavors to be a peace builder in the greater Middle East. Both of these aims directly strengthen each other. Peace in the Middle East is the key to world peace, and it is becoming obvious that without Turkey's enhanced leadership role in the region, peace will not come to the region for a long time because of the vested and selfish interests of myriad groups on a global scale. Turkey's role can be enhanced if it seriously progresses towards EU membership. Yet, for years Turkey's image has been a stumbling block on this path. This image problem has also been abused by anti-Turkish groups and politicians in the EU. One of the factors that have contributed to this image problem has been the sad socioeconomic situation of diaspora Turks in the EU. Even though our nationalists have boasted that one Turk is equal to the world, in reality, they could not create the proper socioeconomic conditions that would prevent millions of these Turks from migrating to the West for purely economic reasons. Unfortunately, the people who had to migrate to the West were from the lower strata of society with little or no education and so on. Our state sent these people to European countries without any guides or leaders, without realizing that these people would be our honorary ambassadors. Thank God, an overwhelming majority of these diaspora Turks has been law-abiding and hardworking members of their wider societies, and generally speaking, they have not done anything that would humble us, but this has not been enough to represent Turkey and Turks abroad. Turks have always been seen as third or fourth-class members of host societies that do not have clean records in terms of facing racism, discrimination and Islamophobia. But, brilliant Turks like Cem Özdemir will hopefully change this image of Turks; he is someone who has fully integrated into German society and is an intelligent, successful visionary. He is also known to be an embodiment of democratic values and is not afraid to be in touch with different segments of society. Symbols like Cem Özdemir will boost the self-confidence of the Turkish diaspora and their full integration into their host societies. This is crucial in the sense that it will show both Turkoskeptic Europeans and Islamophobes that Muslims do not have any problem with secular-democratic values as long as their cultural differences are respected and they are not forced into assimilation. These Turks will also have an opportunity to present the noble values of their Turkish culture and will harmoniously blend this culture with the Western ones, which are generally trapped in a cul de sac and are unable to renew themselves. This will also have a positive impact on other minorities in the West, not only Muslims. Thus, all Western societies will finally gather under the same roof of democratic values with "real" equal opportunities. To achieve this, Western societies should show that they have the ability and self-confidence to discover many more Cem Özdemirs.

Source: Today's Zaman, 23.11.2008
www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/yazarDetay.do?haberno=159485