Turkey's transformation inevitable

PanARMENIAN.Net - Since 1999, Turkey has been experiencing transformation of public, political and social life of the population, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the RA Academy of Sciences, Professor Ruben Safrastyan said during round-table discussions titled "Turkey after presidential elections: constitutional changes and internal transformations."



These changes are inevitable, according to him. "Civil society is being formed in Turkey. Independent NGOs are established as result of close cooperation with European organizations. A non-governmental organization is an absolutely new phenomenon for Turkey. Private capital finds place in science and education. Women's movement, which unites dozens of thousand of women who suffered from Islamic family laws, is gaining force. And the most important factor is the restriction of the military power. The national security council had to restrain activities and this is an advance for Turkey. Ranking the 17th with the GDP index, the state becomes more economically open," he said.



Prof. Safrastyan noted that all this became possible due to activities of the middle class, which formed the Justice and Development Party (AKP). "Appearance of AKP is a natural phenomenon of political history of Turkey, which combines the concept of 'mild' Islam and market economy. Certainly, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the symbol of this transformation," he stressed.