By Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) – 06\/15\/11 05:22 PM ET<\/p>\n
I recently visited Turkey, where I learned much about our increasingly powerful partner. A deeper and more candid friendship with Turkey will help the United States pursue its interests and support its values around the world.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s parliamentary elections showed continued support for Prime Minister Recep Erdogan\u2019s center-right Justice and Development Party (AKP), in power since its first landslide victory in 2002. But opposition parties showed strength, too, narrowing the AKP\u2019s majority. Bottom line: the Turkish people are determining their own destiny \u2014 and that is a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n
Turkey is the strongest and truest Muslim democracy in its region \u2014 more than 99 percent of Turks are Muslims, and though Turkey\u2019s modern history is marked by periodic constitutional crises, it has remained a secular constitutional republic since 1923. As such, Turkey is a natural \u2014 and strategically important \u2014 friend of the United States.<\/p>\n
Since antiquity, present-day Turkey has been situated at the crossroads of civilizations. Its complicated position as hinge between \u201cEast\u201d and \u201cWest\u201d continues to shape its place in the world, evidenced by persistent hurdles to EU membership and complicated relationships with Israel and Iran.<\/p>\n
Turkey faces serious international and domestic challenges \u2014 continued disputes with Greece, difficult relations with the Kurdish population and room for strengthened freedoms of speech and the press, for example \u2014 but Turkey is a model of democracy in the Muslim world.<\/p>\n
On Good Friday, my wife and I visited the House of the Virgin Mary, a site venerated by Christians and Muslims alike on Turkey\u2019s western coast. It is believed Mary once lived there, and people of many faiths were assembled to reflect. Despite the congregation\u2019s somber mood, it was a hopeful scene, in striking contrast to the violence that continues to mar countries to Turkey\u2019s south. Turkey\u2019s unique history has laid the foundations for the development of a remarkably strong and pluralistic society.<\/p>\n
It is also an emerging regional power and important trading partner with a rapidly modernizing economy \u2014 8.2 percent GDP growth in 2010 placed Turkey among the world\u2019s fastest growing economies. Istanbul\u2019s skyline is marked by cranes and signs of development reminiscent of China\u2019s booming mega-cities. Smart investment in infrastructure is improving quality of life and supporting economic growth. Flourishing trade with Europe, Russia, China, Israel and Iraq is growing Turkey\u2019s middle class and bolstering its global clout.<\/p>\n
Turkish participation in multilateral security missions (including NATO efforts in Afghanistan, anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and Operation Unified Protector in Libya) demonstrates greater assertiveness in international affairs. This development should be embraced and shaped by the United States \u2014 not rejected or contained.<\/p>\n
Turkish officials are eager to deepen ties with the United States, and Turkey\u2019s \u201cno-enemies\u201d foreign policy allows for effective facilitation of diplomacy between the U.S. and regimes with which we have disputes. I discussed with Turkish diplomats the plight of American journalists in Libyan captivity, some of whom have been subsequently released. Turkish advocacy on behalf of those Americans still detained remains invaluable.<\/p>\n
The region is in turmoil as citizens rise up to topple rotten dictatorships. Though this \u201cArab Spring\u201d represents hope and greater democratic consciousness in societies recovering from decades of repression, some in the United States fear that popular rule in the Muslim world will not serve American interests. Turkey stands as evidence that Islam and democracy can be reconciled without undermining constructive relations with the United States and our allies. The United States should continue to cultivate Turkey as an enduring partner and friend, while encouraging our friend to maintain its democratic institutions.<\/p>\n
There is much discussion of constitutional reform in Turkey. The United States should engage in candid and respectful dialogue with Turkey\u2019s leaders to advocate for an inclusive process true to Turkey\u2019s secular, democratic heritage \u2014 a key foundation of the U.S.-Turkey friendship. Speaking candidly with our Turkish friends, we should continue to emphasize the importance of free speech and an unfettered press and encourage a swift, efficient, and apolitical judiciary.<\/p>\n
In supporting and deepening ties with Turkey while restating our commitments to these principles, we not only advance our economic and political interests, we demonstrate important commitments to democracy, religious freedom and prosperity in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Johnson is a member of the House Armed Services committee and the Judiciary committee.<\/p>\n
via Turkey: Emerging power, valuable friend – TheHill.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) – 06\/15\/11 05:22 PM ET I recently visited Turkey, where I learned much about our increasingly powerful partner. A deeper and more candid friendship with Turkey will help the United States pursue its interests and support its values around the world. Sunday\u2019s parliamentary elections showed continued support for Prime Minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":643583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5897],"class_list":["post-35866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa","tag-hank-johnson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}