Turkey is currently undergoing a huge change and making a great progress. While debates on the democratic rights roadmap are still hot, we are also witnessing that our relations with Middle East countries are at their best, not to mention those interesting, serious and thought-provoking words voiced by Mr. Erdogan, Turkish prime minister, in a United Nations meeting in his visit to the USA. These words may also be seen as a message to the world.

So far prime ministers in the era of Mr. Ozal and Mr. Demirel as well as later ones, including Ms. Tansu Ciller, Mr. Mesut Yılmaz, Mr. Ecevit and Mr. Erbakan have all delivered powerful and effective speeches in United Nations meetings. But never were their words so striking, lurid, harsh and to the point. It was Mr. Erdogan’s lion’s share to make the world feel the imposing presence of Turkish Republic, to read the minds of Turkish people and to voice their thoughts to the outside world, all on the strength of his people.

We were all curious, and a little bit worried due to the wording of the speech and the messages hinted by it. That said, the speech text was not censored. As a matter of fact, we were greatly honored when we heard Mr. Tayyip speak clearly and very bravely about the presence and power of Turkish Republic in the Middle East, its attitude and approach to Armenians, the warm-up between Turkey and Syria, his feelings towards Moslem countries in Africa and the fact that if Iran is hit, this will spell disaster for the region. We have never had such a powerful politician of ours who was brave enough to ask “why Iran can’t have atomic bomb when some other countries certainly have it”

In my personal opinion, these words will find their way into very respectful corners of Turkey’s future archives of history. As a matter of fact, there are some brilliant precedents in the past: There were times when Mr. Ozal, and though occasionally, Mr. Demirel reasonably voiced our sensitive feelings about both the Middle East and other issues albeit with soft tones. Now here is the portrait of a Prime Minister who manages to express his opinions in crystal clear Turkish, in a to the point and lurid manner. Both our President and Prime Minister have told to Turkish people, foreigners, European Union, USA, Asia, Africa, Middle East and China numerous times that lots of things have changed and are changing in Turkey. They do this whenever they have the chance and without compromising their respectful attitude. This makes us feel more powerful and resolute as a nation that we are somehow standing upright now; our moral is high.

Dr.Zeynel Abidin Erdem