The rotten pear...

My brother-in-law Bülent and his wife Sema Kaynar are our neighbors at our summer house. Every time I visit, they point to the Japanese pear tree in their garden and say, "Let's cut it down. It's useless."

When I ask, "Why do you want to cut it down?" they reply as follows:

"It ripens late. It only becomes ripe and edible after we leave here. Even when it does ripen, it's often rotten or bruised. Besides our grandson Kaya and you, no one wants this pear. Let's cut it down and get rid of it."

Who doesn't love a good pear...

In the middle of September, since the summer season was over, they picked the pears about a month before they were due to ripen. "Let's give them to you; you like pears even if they aren't ripe. Though most of them are wormy!.. If you want them, of course?" they said.

"I do," I said.

I looked at the gathered pears and then at the tree. It stood there with its head bowed, as if it were saying:

"I can't please these people. I bear plenty of fruit. They neither take care of me nor do they stop complaining. They don't lift a finger to prevent my fruit from rotting either."

While under the influence of the emotional bond formed between the tree and me, I noticed one large, beautiful pear left on the tree. I climbed onto a chair; I reached out and picked the pear. To my surprise, the back side of the pear I had picked was completely rotten. Even though it was rotten, I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. I got down from the chair and tried to save the sound part with a knife. However, there was no sound part left.

I thought about the events happening in my country in recent days: the games played in municipalities, the boiling cauldrons in football, what is happening in schools that have turned into the Wild West, the stock market robbery, the helplessness of the government, the cost of living... And so much more. The rot is knee-deep.

Especially the stock market incident is hard to swallow. I am devastated as I watch the ministers, AKP deputy chairmen, and their relatives. It is a complete organization, a complete network as my late father used to say... Everyone is taking what they can. Last night on Halk TV's Rota program, the speakers claimed that the loss in the economy exceeded 10 trillion. The number of victims is half a million people.

Someone explain this to me: How does the capital of a milk-cheese company that doesn't have a single cow inside it reach three to five times the capital of Ülker Holding in such a short time? The AKP government is still acting like a cat that drank milk, not even lifting a finger.

Let's put the economic collapse aside. Turkey's reputation in the world is being dragged through the mud. Is this what the Turkish people deserve? What is this, my friend? Are this country's intelligence services, official or unofficial institutions, in a deep sleep? Where are those responsible for justice and security? Are the prosecutor's offices and courts in hibernation?

What does Özgür Özel say:

"If AKP leader Erdoğan is unaware of what is happening, he can no longer govern; if he is aware, he is considered guilty. In either case, he must resign."

Is there any truth in Özel's statement? That is for you to decide.

Just like in Sema Hanım's pear that I described above, there is no part of the country left that hasn't rotted. It is necessary to cut down that aging pear and graft the sprout (sucker) growing next to it. It is only possible to save the Kaynar family this way. As for the country, only a "new" and clean understanding can save it.