Republicans v. Democrats

Turkey is an old nation but a young democracy. After nine centuries of autocracy, it has known representative government for less than a decade. Its vigorous burst toward freedom has been the wonder of the undemocratic Middle East.

Last May, in the second free election in Turkey's history, the governing Democratic Party honestly gave the people a chance to throw it out; instead the Democrats were triumphantly reinstalled with a staggering majority: 504 out of 541 Parliament seats.

The overwhelming size of the mandate disquieted some of the newborn democracy's best friends: such popularity might prove heady stuff for inexperienced democrats. Since then some of the fears have been confirmed. The victorious Democrats gerrymandered one of the last three pro-Republican provinces, and set out to destroy the opposition's hold on the judiciary and civil service. New laws lowered the retirement age for judges, and gave the government unchecked authority to discharge civil servants whenever it "deems it to be necessary." Another statute prohibited political speeches over the national radio, which hurt the opposition most of all, since the government continued to get air time to "explain" its policies.

Last week, the opposition Republicans angrily struck back. Totting up the results of recent local elections, they discovered that in four years their strength had been cut from 35% of the elected mukhtars (village headmen) to 17%. Ismet Inonu, leader of the opposition Republicans (and onetime President of Turkey, succeeding the late great Kemal Ataturk) took to the Assembly floor to accuse the government of intimidation at the polls. Premier Adnan Menderes lost his usual sangfroid. Inonu was a "liar," he cried, who "spoke with the coldbloodedness of a professional criminal." He added, staring at Inonu, "God will deal with you."

In the ensuing hubbub, a Republican named Sirri Atalay got up to say that during Turkey's war of liberation against Greece (1922), Menderes had been seen strolling "arm in arm" with a Greek officer. This is the ultimate insult in Turkey: two avenging Democrats leaped up to the rostrum and dragged Atalay down. The fighting continued in the corridors, so the presiding officer hastily recessed the Assembly.

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