Serhat Kotak was the guest on the previous day’s episode of “Daily,” the program I started doing on Ada Tv… We remembered our esteemed mentor İsmet Kotak and discussed current affairs. As we talked about intraparty democracy and dismissals, Mr. Kotak made an interesting observation and said, “Is it strange that the Prime Minister dismissed Ahmet Kaşif, or that Mr. Kaşif, who is a candidate for party leader and therefore for Prime Minister, did not resign on the day he announced his candidacy? In other words, you are unhappy with the captain, but you want to continue the journey under his command…”
I couldn’t help thinking about Mr. Kotak’s words. After all, a few weeks ago I wrote an article titled “Intraparty Violence” and criticized the Prime Minister for dismissing ministers. But viewed from this angle, Mr. Kaşif must have thought the Prime Minister wasn’t doing his job properly, which is why he became a candidate… In such a situation, how right was it for him to continue serving under that person?
We can debate the other dismissals, but in my view, we should debate even more the fact that the person who became a candidate did not resign. After all, if Mr. Kaşif had resigned, I think he would have made a stronger statement and set an example…
I’M RESIGNING OVER ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Because of my job, I travel back and forth between Girne and Lefkoşa almost every day, and each time I have to see the pollution spreading into the environment from the Boğaz picnic area. Most recently, it had been cleaned up there, and waste enclosures had been set up… The rubbish had been put in the enclosures, and the area was clean for a day or two… On the one hand, it gets cleaned up; meanwhile, we pollute that area and roadsides all over the country at an incredible rate… In other words, it is clean one day and dirty the next… At this point, calling on the authorities to prevent environmental pollution really is absurd…
I don’t know how many people throw rubbish in the middle of their living rooms at home, but when I see the rubbish along the roadsides, I conclude that there must be a lot of them… I suppose their homes must be knee-deep in rubbish, too…
It would be odd to think otherwise—to start from the thought, “Would someone who throws rubbish on the road also throw rubbish at home?” After all, how consistent do you think it is for someone who doesn’t care about their surroundings to keep their home clean?
Throughout my professional life, I have constantly written articles and made programs about the environment. But, as you can see, I’m fed up with this situation… So, like Sunat Atun, I’m resigning from issuing warnings about environmental pollution… I don’t know if you’ll accept it…