The great provocation started by the decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem has starkly revealed once more the x-ray view of power relations in the world order we live in. Of course, this x-ray has also shown the entire falseness of the mediator position of the U.S. between Palestine and Israel until now.
The U.S. declared the obvious with this decision that it is not the mediator of the problem but a fanatic side, and that it worked in these discussions slyly for the Israel side only. The unarmed Palestinians, who are using their right to protest against this provocation, being subjected to a massacre by Israel, has given rise to a situation in which everybody needs to make obvious their side in the name of humanity. According to the power relations in question, this process has revealed once more who is linked in these power relations.
The reason for the weak voices in the Islamic world, of the Islamic countries is quite obvious. It is futile to wait for those that of their existence to the world order division established by Israel to raise their voices against these crimes.
As for Europe, which has almost associated its reason for existence with democracy and human rights discourses, its ontology of negating all those discourses by holding them subject to interpretation from scratch – when Israel is in question – is no different.
When discussing the developments in Jerusalem over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel ascribed the whole culpability for the death of 60 people and injury of 2,500 people as a result of the fusillade of Israeli soldiers on unarmed civilian demonstrators to the Palestinian demonstrators who “disturbed peace in the region.”
In the same discussion, Merkel did not neglect taking advantage of this opportunity to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Israeli state. Merkel also stated that Germany understands Israel’s security concerns and that the right to a peaceful demonstration and the freedom of thought should not be abused to create a disturbance.
How different is Merkel toward Israel and toward Turkey, right? Of course, this difference is the result of the side she is on. How similar is the understanding she showed to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) members, who staged a coup and killed 250 people and injured more than 2,000 people, and the understanding she is showing to Israel? The understanding and empathy she shows toward the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists and the lack of understanding she shows toward Turkey, which is fighting for existence, peace and security against them overlap. It is obvious that Merkel and her friends see Israel, FETÖ and the PKK in the same line and ranks and Turkey and Palestine in the same line and ranks. And they determine their side accordingly in the front line, while they raise all sensitivities regarding democracy and human rights according to this line.
If only they did not use democracy and human rights discourses in their fury, enmity and bias. They do not hold back from distorting the book they had written on democracy and human rights themselves whenever they want. It is obvious that their inclination to distort the book is never going to change.
Of course, due to its Nazi history, it is a fact that Germany’s guilt toward Jews has chained it to unconditional obedience toward Israel. In this aspect, when Israel is in question, Merkel certainly does not represent the sentiments and will of her own people. If there was a true democracy in Germany with respect to this matter, this would never be the attitude of the German people toward Israel. The German political will is under Israel’s right of lien and hence, it is in vain to expect a free attitude from Germany. However, Germany – which is not a free country – acting like a free country when Turkey is in question, stands out a lot.
Distortion of the book of democracy in Germany
As a matter of fact, there is another example of the “distortion of the book of democracy” in Germany these days. The police law that came out last week in the Bavaria state of Germany, which identifies the state of emergency practice in Turkey as a falling out of democracy – without any regard to its reasons, beginning and end – and which has taken a clear attitude against Turkey because of this, is like a lesson that teaches the world, “this is what a state of emergency, not that.”
This regulation, which is considered as the law that gives police the broadest authority since World War II, gives police the authority to intervene in the case of a “potential danger.” The Police Law that was accepted with 89 votes against 67 in the state parliament last Tuesday, contains numerous debatable points from the speed at which police may intervene to DNA scanning and expanding the scope of using the body camera placed in uniforms.
The Police Law also gives the right to inspect the DNA traces of suspects within the scope of investigation. Those who prepared the law advocate that potential threats may be limited with data such as gender, eye, skin and hair color, age and origin.
Also, according to the law, the scope of Bavaria police’s use of body cameras has been expanded too. Police are entitled to using a body camera in houses as well without a court decision. The scope of technical means given to police has also been expanded with the new regulation. For example, they are going to be able to access personal IT data like “cloud storage.”
The violation of people’s private lives, freedom of expression with the measures made available in relation to people’s private lives in the case of a “potential danger,” aside, use of the “potential danger” label being subject to an entirely arbitrary assessment is a criticism made by unions and the opposition. Yet, the matter has been legalized despite these criticisms.
Not even one-tenth of the racket – due to only part of all these practices being in Turkey – occurs in Germany.
Merkel is still yet to make a criticism that Bavaria is falling out of democracy. Yet, these are clearly the footsteps of fascism. There is also the danger that it will start from Bavaria and spread through the whole country.
Do we not have the right to such concern in the name of German democracy?
