Justice or corruption?

Turkish politics is at a crossroads; those who stand for justice and those who stand for theft or corruption. If you want someone to leave, but your preference lies with those who commit corruption and theft, then justice is dead. In that case, you cannot talk about human rights, justice, or injustice.

A 103-year-old party did not found both the party and the Republic of Turkey with those who committed theft or corruption while establishing the state. Let alone committing corruption, even when there was suspicion, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk referred his ministers and deputies to the Supreme Court (Yüce Divan). You, on the other hand, should have honorably expelled those who committed theft or were involved in it immediately.

Sometimes I get very confused. Should the manifesto for staying in the party and advancing be to declare that you will commit theft and corruption, that you will hand over state resources, that you will usurp the rights of the poor and transfer the taxes paid by the poor to your own rent-seeking and corruption gang, and that you will engage in immorality with the promise of hiring the children of the poor? You are to adopt immorality as a way of life in politics, replacing whatever there is in the name of ethical values. When the seat is lost, have you ever remembered these values in the name of morality, faith, justice, and law?

You will have been intertwined with the problematic structures of this country in a crypto manner for a long time. You will expect help from imperialism and sell the intimate values of the country to these bloodsuckers. Then you will say, "They spent me." Spare us these. Come out honorably; declare all the assets you, your family, your driver, your servant, your friends, and your first and second-degree blood and affinal relatives have. Let the public see your assets before you entered politics and during your political tenure.

In conclusion, when asked "Justice or corruption?", while justice represents the rule of law, equal treatment, and public interest; corruption represents the misuse of public resources, the provision of unfair advantages, and the erosion of trust in rules.

Therefore, the indispensable principle that must be chosen in terms of values and democratic governance principles is justice. Corruption is a phenomenon that damages the economic, political, and social structure of societies. There is certainly a sociological explanation for why those who commit corruption are preferred in our country. The main ones are that some voters see identity elements such as party, ideology, and social environment as more important than corruption allegations, or they believe they know the party leaders well and evaluate corruption or corruption allegations as secondary. They may also think that the allegations are politically motivated.

In democratic systems, justice, accountability, and the rule of law are accepted as fundamental values. However, in our country, party or voter behavior is not shaped by these principles. Choices are made by evaluating different values and interests together. For this reason, situations are occurring in our country recently where people seem to prefer those who commit corruption over those who defend justice.

As a result, the values that make a state just also make a person just. Politics is conducted with virtue. All the gold on and under the earth cannot be the price of virtue. The highest virtue is justice. Justice keeps not only a party but also a state standing.

Prof. Dr. Duran BÜLBÜL